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Chinese Olympian Huang Ya Qiong achieved a gold medal and received a marriage proposal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The 30-year-old badminton player, alongside her doubles partner Zheng Siwei, clinched the gold medal in mixed doubles by defeating the South Korean duo Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun on Thursday, August 2.
Immediately following the medal ceremony, Huang was surprised by her Olympic teammate, men’s doubles player Liu Yuchen, who presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Liu then took a knee and proposed to Huang in front of the audience at La Chapelle Arena. Overwhelmed with emotion, Huang accepted the proposal as the crowd erupted in cheers. Liu, who had previously won a silver medal in men’s doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, then placed the ring on her finger.
As reported by the official Olympics website, Huang expressed her overwhelming joy, saying she “cannot describe the feeling I have because I am happy, happy, happy.”
She added, “I was taken aback by the engagement ring. My focus has been solely on training to become an Olympic champion, so I never expected this.” Huang also mentioned that she had not yet thought about how to celebrate. Reactions on social media were filled with excitement and congratulations for the couple, with one user on X (formerly Twitter) commenting, “Siwei Yaqiong may have won the gold medal, but Yuchen won Yaqiong's heart😭”
Huang shared with the Associated Press through an interpreter, “The proposal was a complete surprise because my focus has been on the competition. Today, I became an Olympic champion and got proposed to, which was something I never anticipated.”