In case you missed it, a proposal took place on the sidelines of the badminton court at Porte de la Chapelle Arena at the conclusion of mixed doubles medal presentation last week.
After powering to the gold medal on Friday, Huang Ya Qiong received an unexpected offer from her partner which will change the course of her life.
But it did not come from Zheng Si Wei, with whom she breezed past Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun 21-8 21-11 in a whirlwind final.
Rather, the proposal came from her boyfriend, men’s doubles player Liu Yu Chen.
“I’ve become the Olympic champion and I also got proposed to, that’s something I didn’t expect,” Huang said. “The ring fits my finger really well.”
Huang had just collected the first Olympic gold of her career and posed for a selfie on the podium with Zheng and the other four medallists when she was ushered in the direction of Liu, who was waiting with a bouquet of flowers.
As Liu fiddled in his pocket for the ring, Huang broke down in tears and the 7,000-strong crowd erupted.
“I chose to do it now because we love each other and today is a very good day for us,” Liu, who was knocked out with men’s doubles partner Ou Xuan Yi two days earlier, said. “I love her 100 per cent.”
Zheng had delivered his own marriage proposal to his now wife after he collected the silver medal alongside Huang at Tokyo 2020.
“This time it’s doubly lucky things happening at the same time,” Zheng said. “They are definitely needed in each other’s life – I’m extremely happy for them.”