It was a memorable day for Chinese badminton player Huang Ya Qiong at the Olympics.
Huang and her partner Zheng Siwei triumphed over South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun with scores of 21-8, 21-11 in mixed doubles, concluding an undefeated streak in Paris. After receiving her gold medal, Huang accepted a wedding proposal from Li Yuchen, a fellow player on China’s badminton team.
“For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” Huang stated through an interpreter. “Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed to, so that’s something I didn’t expect.”
Huang and Zheng, who were silver medalists at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, went undefeated in group play, earning the top seed in the quarterfinals. They completed the tournament 6-0 without dropping a game.
Zheng mentioned that he had gotten engaged three years ago after losing a final and sees this as a more joyous experience for his partner.
“I think it must be happier for her,” he commented. “Last time it was purely for my proposal, but this time it’s basically double lucky things happening at the same time.”
In the bronze-medal match, Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino defeated South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung with scores of 21-13, 22-20. They also claimed Olympic bronze three years ago in Tokyo and expressed disappointment at not improving their performance this time around.
“The bronze medal is not the best,” Yuta said. “I wanted the gold medal, but this is better than nothing.”
China has secured mixed doubles badminton gold at consecutive Olympics and five out of eight times since it became a medal event in Atlanta in 1996. Wang Yilyu, who retired after winning gold in Tokyo alongside Huang Dong Ping, saw his former partner team up with Feng Yan Zhe in Paris, only to lose to Zheng and Huang in the quarterfinals.
China is also assured women’s doubles badminton gold and silver, as Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan will compete against Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in an all-China final on Saturday.