| 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]
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]