Olympian Wins Gold, Surprised by Heartwarming Marriage Proposal

Wearing a gold medal around her neck, an Olympian was very surprised by what happened next.

PARIS, France — Huang Ya Qiong, a standout in China’s badminton team, capped off a memorable day at the Olympics on Friday. Paired with Zheng Siwei, she secured gold in mixed doubles after defeating South Korea’s Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-8, 21-11.

Moments after receiving her medal, Huang experienced another life-changing event: a marriage proposal from fellow team member Li Yuchen. “For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” Huang shared 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 were the top seeds in the tournament, finishing with a flawless 6-0 record. Notably, they did not drop a single game throughout their campaign.

Reflecting on the occasion, Zheng noted the unique moment for Huang. “I think it must be happier for her,” he said. “Last time it was purely for my proposal, but this time is basically double lucky things happening at the same time.”

Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino secured the bronze medal by beating South Korea’s Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung 21-13, 22-20. Despite their victory, both expressed disappointment at not improving on their previous bronze-medal performance on home soil.

“The bronze medal is not the best,” Yuta admitted. “I wanted the gold medal, but this is better than nothing.”

China has dominated mixed doubles badminton, winning gold in consecutive Olympics and five out of the eight times since it became a medal event in Atlanta in 1996. Wang Yilyu, who won gold in Tokyo with Huang Dong Ping, retired but Huang’s new partner Feng Yan Zhe encountered a tough challenge, losing in the quarterfinals to Zheng and Huang.

China is assured of clinching both gold and silver in women’s doubles. Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan will compete against Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning in an all-China final on Saturday.