Misha Zilberman

Early and personal life

Zilberman was born in Moscow, Russia. He is an only child of his father, Michael, and his mother, Svetlana. His father was born in Russia in 1945, and made aliyah to Israel in 1991, with his wife and son Misha, and worked in Pardes Hannah and then in Rishon LeZion. Svetlana was born in Belarus. She began playing badminton at the age of 12, which is how she met Michael, who was her coach.

Both his parents come from athletic backgrounds. Zilberman was a member of the Soviet national floor gymnastics team until he retired as the result of an injury. He then became an assistant coach to the Soviet national team in badminton. Svetlana plays professional badminton. Her greatest accomplishment was winning a bronze medal in the 1986 European Badminton Championships for the USSR.

Zilberman served in the Israel Defense Forces from August 2007 to August 2010. He lives in Ness Ziona, Israel.

Badminton career

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.

In 2011, Zilberman competed for six months for Odense 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 Dongguan, China – 2015 Vivo BWF Sudirman Cup.

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 26 at the Olympic rankings in singles, he came in 14th at the Olympic Games.

Zilberman won a gold medal at the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Mixed Doubles.

BWF International Challenge/Series

Men's singles

Mixed doubles