Paris Olympics: China's shuttler wins gold, then says yes to proposal from teammate

After winning her first Olympics gold, China badminton player Huang Yaqiong had her day made even more special when boyfriend and China teammate, Liu Yuchen, proposed to her.

This happened after Huang won the gold medal in the mixed doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday (Aug. 2).

Huang had teamed up with shuttler Zheng Siwei to beat their Korean opponents 2-0 in the final and claim the gold.

It was the first badminton podium at this year's Olympics.

The surprise proposal

After the ceremony, when Huang was walking around the arena to celebrate with supporters, her boyfriend, China men's doubles player Liu, surprised her with a flower bouquet.

He then got down on one knee to pop the question.

And for those of you wondering, she said yes.

Huang said that the proposal came as a surprise as she was focused on preparing for the game, APNews reported.

“Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect.”

Huang and Zheng had to settle for mixed doubles silver at their previous Olympics outing in Tokyo, in 2021.

Zheng added that he got engaged following the loss in the 2021 final, and opined that it's a "better experience" for his partner this time round.

Other Olympics proposals

The Olympic Games has seen its share of marriage proposals in the past.

Chinese diver He Zi was proposed to long-time boyfriend Qin Kai at the 2016 Rio Olympics after winning silver.

The televised moment has been watched more than 13 million times.

And more recently, a pair of Argentine athletes got engaged on Jul. 25 at the Paris Olympics Village, prior to the start of the Games.

Top image from BWF / Facebook