It was not less than a dream come true for Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong, who won gold at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the mixed doubles event. The Olympic gold medallist reached cloud nine when her teammate, men's doubles Tokyo silver medallist Liu Yuchen, proposed to her minutes after she stepped off the podium.
The video of Liu Yuchen bending on his knee to propose to Huang Yaqiong has gone viral on the internet and has earned massive praise on social media.
The viral video perfectly captures Huang's expression from happiness to surprise when she sees Zheng Siwei holding a bouquet in his hand. What happened seconds later left Huang in complete disbelief and sheer happiness. Amid loud cheer, her teammate took out a small box from his pocket and sat on his knee to propose to Huang. After taking some time to savour the moment, Huang accepted Liu's ring, containing a sizeable diamond which sparkled up close later during a press conference.
Huang and her mixed doubles partner Zheng Siwei defeated South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-8 21-11 to win the badminton mixed doubles final at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena.
She had also won a mixed doubles silver in Tokyo with Zheng. The Olympian was completely shocked as spectators went wild, before smiling shyly and accepting Liu's ring, containing a sizeable diamond which sparkled up close later during a press conference.
"The proposal was very surprising because I'd been preparing for the game," said a glowing Huang.
"The ring fits my finger really well," Reuters quoted Huang.
The romantic proposal at Paris Olympics 2024 took social media by storm where several users expressed their happiness.
“This year's medal count can now include a diamond ring,” wrote a social media user Weibo, according to Reuters.
"Liu Yuchen didn't win the Olympic gold medal but he did win over an Olympic gold medallist," another wrote.
“This is so beautiful,” a social media user commented on the video shared on X, formerly Twitter.
“The only good thing from Olympics.”
“Olympic can be romantic,” read another comment on the post.
