Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong gets engaged after winning Olympic gold
Chinese badminton star Huang Yaqiong not only won the coveted gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she also received a surprise proposal from her boyfriend and fellow badminton player Liu Yuchen.
After Huang and her partner Zheng Siwei emerged victorious against South Korea's Kim Wonho and Jeong Naeun at the mixed doubles competition, they went through the medal ceremony where Liu went down on one knee and popped the question to her.
Huang couldn't help but place her hand in her mouth in shock as Liu, who previously won silver in the men’s doubles competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, presented her with the diamond engagement ring.
The proposal was shown on the video board at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, where the crowd could be heard cheering loudly for the future husband and wife.
"I’ll love you forever! Will you marry me?"
— Li Zexin (@XH_Lee23) August 2, 2024
"Yes! I do!"
OMG!!! Romance at the Olympics!!!❤️❤️❤️
Huang Yaqiong just had her "dream come true", winning a badminton mixed doubles gold medal🥇with her teammate Zheng Siwei
Then her boyfriend Liu Yuchen proposed! 🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/JxMIipF7ij
According to the Associated Press, Huang never imagined that she would get engaged on that day.
"For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game. Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect," she said through an interpreter.
Huang is a three-time World Champion, two-time Asian Games gold medalist, and two-time Asian Champion. She also won a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
This isn't the first time that a proposal happened during this year's games. The official Olympics website shared that Argentine athletes Pablo Simonet and Maria Campoy, who are members of the men's handball and women’s hockey teams respectively, also got engaged in the Olympic Village before the Games began.
