Paula Lynn Cao Hok (née Obañana; born March 19, 1985) is a Filipino-American badminton player who was originally from Dumaguete, Philippines.[1][2] In 2015, she won the women's doubles gold medals at the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada partnered with Eva Lee.[3] In 2016, she competed at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4]

Paula Lynn Cao Hok
Personal information
Birth namePaula Lynn Parrocho Obañana
CountryUnited States
Born (1985-03-19) March 19, 1985 (age 39)
Dumaguete, Philippines
ResidenceMinneapolis–Saint Paul, United States
Height1.61 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
HandednessRight
CoachAlistair Casey
Johanna Lee
Women's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking17 (WD 2 April 2015)
63 (XD 30 July 2019)
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Lima Mixed doubles
Pan Am Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Santo Domingo Women's doubles
Gold medal – first place 2014 Markham Women's doubles
Silver medal – second place 2013 Santo Domingo Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Markham Mixed team
BWF profile

Personal life

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Obañana, started training at the age of 10 during her elementary years at the Silliman University Elementary School. She later joined the High School Badminton Varsity Team at Silliman University and was subsequently awarded "Athlete of the Year", "Most Outstanding Athlete of the Year", and "Most Valuable Player".[5] After graduating from high school she was recruited on a scholarship at the De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines where she eventually obtained her bachelor's degree. She left the Philippines in 2006, where her mother Nenita had been recruited to work as a nurse in Minnesota. Obañana officially became a U.S. citizen in May 2011.[6]

Achievements

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Pan American Games

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
  Eva Lee   Alex Bruce
  Michelle Li
21–12, 16-21, 19-21   Bronze
2015 Atos Markham Pan Am Centre,
Toronto, Canada
  Eva Lee   Lohaynny Vicente
  Luana Vicente
21–14, 21–6   Gold

Mixed doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Multipurpose Gymnasium,
Guadalajara, Mexico
  Howard Bach   Toby Ng
  Grace Gao
11–21, 21–19, 14–21   Bronze
2019 Polideportivo 3,
Lima, Peru
  Howard Shu   Nyl Yakura
  Kristen Tsai
15–21, 15–21   Bronze

Pan Am Championships

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Women's doubles

Year Venue Partner Opponent Score Result
2013 Palacio de los Deportes Virgilio Travieso Soto,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  Eva Lee   Alex Bruce
  Phyllis Chan
21–15, 21–13   Gold
2014 Markham Pan Am Centre,
Markham, Canada
  Eva Lee   Lohaynny Vicente
  Luana Vicente
23–21, 21–14   Gold

BWF Grand Prix (1 runner-up)

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The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2014 U.S. Grand Prix   Eva Lee   Hsieh Pei-chen
  Wu Ti-jung
16–21, 10–21   Runner-up
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (19 titles, 13 runners-up)

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Women's doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2009 Miami Pan Am International   Priscilla Lun   Sandra Chirlaque
  Alejandra Monteverde
22–20, 13–21, 21–13   Winner
2010 Brazil International   Eva Lee   Iris Wang
  Rena Wang
14–21, 21–11, 21–12   Winner
2011 Guatemala International   Eva Lee   Grace Gao
  Joycelyn Ko
19–21, 21–18, 21–13   Winner
2011 Brazil International   Eva Lee   Alex Bruce
  Michelle Li
21–14, 21–17   Winner
2011 Norwegian International   Eva Lee   Lotte Jonathans
  Paulien van Dooremalen
17–21, 21–6, 21–13   Winner
2012 Swedish Masters   Eva Lee   Mariana Agathangelou
  Heather Olver
15–21, 12–21   Runner-up
2012 Austrian International   Eva Lee   Ng Hui Ern
  Ng Hui Lin
16–21, 18–21   Runner-up
2012 Polish Open   Eva Lee   Mariana Agathangelou
  Heather Olver
12–21, 21–23   Runner-up
2012 Tahiti International   Eva Lee   Alex Bruce
  Michelle Li
21–13, 21–12   Winner
2013 Canadian International   Eva Lee   Alex Bruce
  Phyllis Chan
15–21, 14–21   Winner
2013 Bulgarian International   Eva Lee   Gabriela Stoeva
  Stefani Stoeva
15–21, 10–21   Runner-up
2014 Peru International   Eva Lee   Nicole Grether
  Charmaine Reid
21–14, 21–15   Winner
2014 Guatemala International   Eva Lee   Paula B Pereira
  Fabiana Silva
11–3, 11–3, 11–10   Winner
2014 USA International   Eva Lee   Naoko Fukuman
  Kurumi Yonao
10–21, 23–25   Runner-up
2015 Guatemala International   Eva Lee   Johanna Goliszewski
  Carla Nelte
18–21, 22–24   Runner-up
2015 Bulgarian International   Eva Lee   Gabriela Stoeva
  Stefani Stoeva
14–21, 10–21   Runner-up
2015 Chile International Challenge   Eva Lee   Lohaynny Vicente
  Luana Vicente
21–17, 21–16   Winner
2016 Austrian Open   Eva Lee   Ekaterina Bolotova
  Evgeniya Kosetskaya
11–21, 21–23   Runner-up
2016 Tahiti International   Eva Lee   Akane Araki
  Ayaka Kawasaki
13–21, 12–21   Runner-up
2016 Yonex / K&D Graphics International   Eva Lee   Jing Yu Hong
  Beiwen Zhang
17–21, 20–22   Runner-up
2022 Peru Challenge   Lauren Lam   Annie Xu
  Kerry Xu
21–19, 21–18   Winner
2022 Mexican International   Lauren Lam   Catherine Choi
  Josephine Wu
19–21, 10–21   Runner-up
2022 El Salvador International   Lauren Lam   Annie Xu
  Kerry Xu
21–18, 21–17   Winner
2023 Estonian International   Lauren Lam   Moa Sjöö
  Tilda Sjöö
21–10, 21–11   Winner
2023 Lagos International   Lauren Lam   Simran Singhi
  Ritika Thaker
Walkover   Runner-up
2024 Uganda International   Lauren Lam   Francesca Corbett
  Allison Lee
19–21, 21–18, 21–15   Winner

Mixed doubles

Year Tournament Partner Opponent Score Result
2011 Miami International   Phillip Chew   Lasitha Menaka
  Renu Chandrika Hettiarachchige
21–18, 17–21, 21–10   Winner
2019 Uganda International   Howard Shu   Vinson Chiu
  Breanna Chi
21–9, 21–12   Winner
2019 Mauritius International   Howard Shu   Vinson Chiu
  Breanna Chi
17–21, 16–21   Runner-up
2019 Peru International   Howard Shu   Fabricio Farias
  Jaqueline Lima
21–17, 22–20   Winner
2019 Benin International   Howard Shu   Pit Seng Low
  Louisa Ma
21–12, 21–13   Winner
2019 Côte d'Ivoire International   Howard Shu   Ahmed Salah
  Hadia Hosny
21–16, 21–14   Winner
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series tournament
  BWF Future Series tournament

References

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  1. ^ "Players: Paula Lynn Obanana". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "Athletes: Paula Lynn Obanana Badminton". Badminton USA. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  3. ^ "Badminton - Athlete Profile: Obanana Paula Lynn". Toronto 2015. Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "Paula Lynn Obanana". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  5. ^ "Silliman Alumnus competes in Olympics" (PDF). Silliman University Alumni Association, Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "Minnesotan Paula Lynn Obanana living dream in Rio Olympics". www.startribune.com. Star Tribune. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
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