China’s badminton player Huang Ya Qiong had a remarkable day at the Paris Olympics, winning both gold and a diamond as she accepted a wedding proposal.
Huang and her partner Zheng Siwei triumphed over South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun with a score of 21-8, 21-11 in mixed doubles, concluding an unbeaten run in the tournament. After the victory, Huang, with the gold medal around her neck, was surprised by a proposal from fellow team member Li Yuchen.
“Preparing for the game, I didn’t expect the proposal,” Huang said through an interpreter. “Becoming an Olympic champion and being proposed to on the same day was unexpected.”
Huang and Zheng, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, dominated group play with a 3-0 record, securing the top seed for the quarterfinals. They concluded the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record, not dropping a single game.
Zheng mentioned that he got engaged three years ago after a loss in the final and sees this win as a more joyous occasion for his partner. “Last time was about my proposal, but this time it’s double the happiness,” he said.
In the bronze-medal match, Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino defeated South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung 21-13, 22-20. Having also claimed Olympic bronze three years ago in Tokyo, the Japanese duo expressed disappointment at not securing a higher medal this time. “Bronze is not the best,” Yuta stated. “I wanted the gold, but this is better than nothing.”
China continues its dominance in mixed doubles badminton, having won gold in back-to-back Olympics and five out of eight times since it became a medal event in 1996. Wang Yilyu, who won gold in Tokyo with Huang Dong Ping, has since retired. Dong Ping teamed with Feng Yan Zhe in Paris, only to lose to Zheng and Huang in the quarterfinals.
China is also assured gold and silver in women’s doubles badminton, with Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan set to face Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in an all-China final on Saturday.