Wikipedia - Misha Zilberman
Misha Zilberman (Hebrew: מישה זילברמן, Russian: Миша Зильберман; born 30 January 1989) is an Israeli badminton player. He competed for Israel at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. He also won a bronze medal at the 2022 European Badminton Championships, and represented Israel at the 2015 and 2019 European Games. Zilberman is the first Israeli player to win a medal at the European Badminton Championships.
History
Early years
When he was still a baby Zilberman used to join his mother at her badminton practice, and with time he began playing himself. At the age of 12 he began his serious daily training. He began to compete in junior badminton tournaments in 2003. His club is Kfar Maccabiah. He is coached by both his parents, as his mother coaches him, and his father is head coach of Israel's national badminton team.
Zilberman won the senior Israeli Badminton Championship when he was 16 years old, in 2004. In 2006 and 2009 he played mixed doubles with his mother at the Badminton World Championships, as the Championships' first mother-son mixed doubles team.
2010–19
In 2011, Zilberman competed for six months for the Odense badminton club in the professional league in Denmark. In April 2012 he reached the finals of the Tahiti Air Nui International, improving his world ranking by 14 places. In 2012, he won the Israeli Badminton Championship in both singles and mixed doubles (with his mother). In May 2012 he was ranked # 64 internationally.
Zilberman competed for Israel at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the first appearance by an Israeli badminton player in the Olympics. Ranked 33rd in the Olympic rankings in singles, he came in 33rd in the Games.
In July 2013 Zilberman won two gold medals at the 2013 Maccabiah Games, one in singles, one in mixed doubles with his mother. In May 2015, he competed in mixed doubles with his mother, who was 56 years old, at the 2015 Sudirman Cup in Dongguan, China.
Zilberman represented Israel at the 2015 European Games in badminton in men's singles. He lost in the round of 16 to Zvonimir Đurkinjak of Croatia in three sets.
He competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics in badminton. Zilberman garnered Israel's first-ever win in Olympic badminton, beating Yuhan Tan of Belgium 22-20 and 22–12, but went 1–1 in his group and did not advance to the next round. Misha ranked 26th in the Olympic rankings in singles, and came in 14th at the Olympic Games.
Zilberman won a gold medal at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in singles, and another in mixed doubles with his mother.
2020–present
He competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in badminton, in what was his third Olympics. He came in 14th at the Olympic Games, after he defeated world # 15, and 2019 world championship bronze medalist, Sai Praneeth Bhamidipati, but was defeated by Mark Caljouw.
At the 2022 European Badminton Championships, he won a bronze medal as he defeated Luka Ban of Croatia, Kari Gunnarson of Iceland, Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands (ranked # 26 in the world), and 2018 European Championship bronze medalist Brice Leverdez of France in the quarterfinals, before losing to 2020 Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semi-finals.