Brazilian badminton player (born 1989)
Badminton player
| Daniel Paiola |
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| Country | Brazil |
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| Born | (1989-05-04) May 4, 1989 (age 34)
Campinas, Brazil |
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| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
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| Handedness | Right |
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| Highest ranking | 62 (June 11, 2015) |
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| Current ranking | 113 (May 10, 2012) |
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| BWF profile |
Daniel Vasconcellos Paiola (born May 4, 1989) is a Brazilian badminton player. He became the first Brazilian badminton player to win an individual medal in the Pan American Games when he won a bronze in the men's singles event at the 2011 Games, losing in the semi-finals to Guatemalan Kevin Cordón.[1][2] He has medaled ten at the Pan American Badminton Championships, and is a one-time national champion.
Early life
Paiola was born in Campinas, and his father died when he was one year old.[3] He started out playing tennis, but took up badminton at age 13 after a shoulder injury took him out for year. While still a teenager, his mother sent him to train in Portugal with Marco Vasconcelos, a fifteen-time Portuguese national champion, and his training also took him to Spain, Denmark and Malaysia.[4] His first international tournament was the 2007 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships, where he competed in the under-19 boys' singles and mixed doubles events.
Professional career
Paiola made his professional international debut at the 2008 South Africa International in Cape Town, where he won a gold medal in the men's singles category.[5]
In August 2011, Paiola competed at the 2011 BWF World Championships in London. He lost his first match to Kazushi Yamada of Japan (13-21, 9-21).[6] He also competed in men's doubles with compatriot Hugo Arthuso. They lost in the first round to Chris Adcock and Andrew Ellis (10-21, 11-21).[7]
He also competed at the 2014 BWF World Championships in Kuala Lumpur. In the men's singles tournament, he lost his first match against Austrian David Obernosterer (21-17, 11-21, 17-21).[8] He also participated in mixed doubles, where he and Paula Pereira lost in the first round to the Austrian pairing of Roman Zirnwald and Elisabeth Baldauf (15-21, 17-21). The following August at the 2015 event, though, he avenged his loss to Obernosterer by beating him by the scores of 21-14, 11-21, 24-22. He subsequently lost his second-round match with Lin Dan (widely considered one of the greatest badminton players ever) with scores of 14-21, 14-21.[3]
