Paulo Melo Explained

Paulo Melo
Headercolor:lightblue
Fullname:Paulo Ricardo Melo
Nationality:Brazilian
Birth Date:1 March 1997
Birth Place:Assú, Rio Grande do Norte
Residence:Assu, Brazil
Height:175 cm
Weight:54kg
Sport:Taekwondo
Club:Team Taekwondo Escola
Coach:Fábio Lourenço

Paulo Ricardo Souza de Melo (born March 1, 1997) is a Brazilian taekwondo athlete[1] who won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships on the men's 54 kg.[2]

Career

Paulo started playing the sport in 2009, in the social project "Projovem", with coach Fabio Lourenço.[3]

At the 2018 South American Games held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Melo won a bronze medal in the 58 kg category.[4]

At the 2018 Pan American Taekwondo Championships held in Spokane, USA, Melo won a silver medal.[5] [6]

At the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships held in Manchester, United Kingdom, Melo won a bronze medal in the Men's finweight category.[7]

At the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru, Melo won a bronze medal in the Men's 58 kg category.[8] [9]

At the 2021 Pan American Taekwondo Championships held in Cancún, Mexico, Melo won a bronze medal in the -54 kg category.[10]

At the 2022 Pan American Taekwondo Championships held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Melo obtained the biggest title of his career by obtaining the gold medal in the 54 kg category.[11]

At the 2022 South American Games held in Asunción, Paraguay, Melo won the gold medal in the 58 kg category.[12]

At the 2022 World Taekwondo Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico, Melo started with a 2-0 victory over Australian Benjamin Camua, with scores of 15-1 and 16-4. In the round of 16, Melo had another triumph, beating the Chinese Zhou Xiao 2-0 (7-1 and 5-1). The Brazilian ended up losing in detail in the quarterfinals, against the South Korean Bae Jun-seo. The first round was tied at 0-0, when Paulo had a fall while attempting a strike at the last second, giving his opponent a point. In the second, a 5-5 draw, with the Asian winning the tiebreaker to close the duel 2-0 (1-0 and 5*-5). Melo finished in 5th place.[13]

At the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships held in Baku, Azerbaijan, Melo, tenth in the world rankings, debuted against Swede Bleron Ademi and won 2-1 (6/6, 9/1 and 10/3). Then, in the round of 16, he faced Spaniard Hugo Arillo and was defeated in partials of 6/3, 4/6 and 5/4. Melo was ahead on the scoreboard in the last two rounds, but suffered a comeback.[14]

At the 2023 Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile, Melo repeated his 2019 result, again obtaining bronze in the individual category.[15] The Brazilian men's team, formed by Melo, Maicon Andrade and Edival Pontes, won an unprecedented gold medal for the country, after a thrilling comeback over Cuba in the semifinals, with a 76-60 triumph, and a crushing victory over Chile 48 to 16, where the Brazilian team was impressive in front of the noisy fans who attended the Centro de Deportes de Contacto.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TaekwondoData. TaekwondoData. en. 2019-05-16.
  2. Web site: Paulo Ricardo Melo conquista a medalha de bronze no Campeonato Mundial de taekwondo. Globoesporte. pt-br. 2019-05-16.
  3. http://rededoesporte.gov.br/pt-br/noticias/paulo-ricardo-melo-conquista-medalha-de-bronze-no-mundial-de-taekwondo-manchester-2019-1 Paulo Ricardo Melo conquista medalha de bronze no Mundial de Taekwondo Manchester 2019
  4. https://ge.globo.com/olimpiadas/projeto-toquio/maicon-andrade/noticia/maicon-andrade-goleia-argentino-e-e-campeao-sul-americano-de-taekwondo.ghtml Maicon Andrade "goleia" argentino e é campeão sul-americano de taekwondo
  5. https://olimpiadatododia.com.br/taekwondo/80142-equipe-brasileira-conquista-14-medalhas-no-pan-americano/ Equipe brasileira conquista 14 medalhas no Pan-Americano
  6. https://ge.globo.com/olimpiadas/projeto-toquio/maicon-andrade/noticia/maicon-andrade-perde-na-semifinal-e-fica-com-o-bronze-no-pan-americano-nos-eua.ghtml Maicon Andrade perde na semifinal e fica com o bronze no Pan-Americano nos EUA
  7. http://rededoesporte.gov.br/pt-br/noticias/paulo-ricardo-melo-conquista-medalha-de-bronze-no-mundial-de-taekwondo-manchester-2019-1 Paulo Ricardo Melo conquista medalha de bronze no Mundial de Taekwondo Manchester 2019
  8. https://recordtv.r7.com/pan-lima-2019/talisca-jezierski-conquista-a-prata-do-taekwondo-no-pan-de-lima-28072019 Talisca Jezierski conquista a prata do taekwondo no Pan de Lima
  9. https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/ultimas-noticias/2019/07/27/talisca-reis-medalha-taekwondo-pan-lima.htm Brasil ganha prata e bronze no primeiro dia de taekwondo no Pan
  10. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/esportes/noticia/2021-06/taekwondo-brasil-fatura-13-medalhas-no-primeiro-dia-do-pan-no-mexico Taekwondo: Brasil faura 13 medalhas no primeiro dia do Pan no México
  11. https://ge.globo.com/rn/noticia/2022/05/05/potiguar-e-campeao-pan-americano-de-taekwondo-em-punta-cana.ghtml Potiguar é campeão pan-americano de taekwondo em Punta Cana
  12. https://www.cob.org.br/pt/galerias/noticias/natacao-encerra-jogos-sulamericanos-com-campanha-historica/ Natação encerra Jogos Sul-americanos com campanha histórica
  13. https://olimpiadatododia.com.br/taekwondo/479434-taekwondo-paulo-melo-raphaella/ Paulo Melo cai nas quartas do Mundial de Taekwondo
  14. https://olimpiadatododia.com.br/taekwondo/513196-paulo-melo-dangela-guimaraes-mundial-baku/ Paulo Melo e Dângela Guimarães fecham Mundial com uma vitória
  15. https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/ultimas-noticias/2023/10/21/pan-2023-paulo-ricardo-vence-equatoriano-e-conquista-o-bronze-no-taekwondo.htm Pan 2023: Paulo Ricardo vence equatoriano e conquista o bronze no taekwondo
  16. https://www.cob.org.br/pt/galerias/noticias/de-forma-heroica-brasil-conquista-ouro-e-bronze-por-equipes-no-taekwondo-em-santiago/ De forma heroica, Brasil conquista ouro e bronze por equipes no taekwondo em Santiago