China’s badminton player Huang Ya Qiong experienced a day of triumph and surprise at the Olympics, capturing gold in mixed doubles and accepting a wedding proposal.
Huang, alongside partner Zheng Siwei, defeated South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun with scores of 21-8 and 21-11, maintaining an unbeaten streak in Paris. Following their victory, Huang, with a gold medal around her neck, accepted a marriage proposal from Li Yuchen, a fellow member of China’s badminton team.
Speaking through an interpreter, Huang said, “The proposal was very surprising as I had been focused on preparing for the game. Today I became an Olympic champion and also got a proposal, which was unexpected.”
The pair, who were silver medalists at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, performed strongly throughout the tournament, winning all their matches and securing the top seed in the quarterfinals. They finished the competition 6-0 without losing a single game.
Zheng mentioned that they got engaged three years ago after a loss in the final, and he believes this is a more joyous occasion for Huang. “I think it must be happier for her this time. Last time it was just a proposal, but now we have double fortunate events happening simultaneously,” he said.
In the bronze-medal match, Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino triumphed over South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung with scores of 21-13 and 22-20. Despite winning bronze again, as they had three years ago on home soil, they expressed disappointment at not securing a higher place. “The bronze medal is not the best,” said Yuta. “I wanted the gold medal, but this is better than nothing.”
China’s dominance in mixed doubles badminton continues, having won gold in back-to-back Olympics and five out of eight times since it became a medal event in Atlanta in 1996. Wang Yilyu, who won gold in Tokyo with Huang Dong Ping, retired, while Huang Dong Ping partnered with Feng Yan Zhe in Paris, losing to Zheng and Huang in the quarterfinals.
China is also assured of women’s doubles badminton gold and silver medals, as Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan will compete against Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in an all-China final on Saturday.