Paris (France): The seventh day of the Paris Olympics 2024 saw a Love blossoming when Chinese shuttler Liu Yuchen got down on one knee and proposed to his shuttler girlfriend Huang Yaqiong following their gold medal triumph on Friday.
The incident happened after Huang thrashed her South Korean rival in the mixed doubles final for the podium finish alongside Zheng Xiwei, the video of which went viral on social media.
The La Chapelle Arena crowd was in awe and the decibel levels in the stadium increased extensively when Liu Yuchen brought out the wedding ring from his pocket and proposed for a marriage. Liu Yuchen walked up to the arena after Huang was awarded the Gold medal in the medal ceremony. Huang was emotional when she saw Liu go down on his knees and couldn't control her tears of happiness. Much to the delight of Liu and the packed crowd at the venue, Huang 'said yes'.
After the surprise exchange, Huang Yaqiong asserted that she was not expecting the engagement ring in Paris, mentioning that she was fully focused on the preparation in the lead-up to the Games.
"I cannot describe the feeling I have because I am happy, happy, happy," said Huang, who was in tears as she nodded yes. "Getting the gold medal is recognition of our journey. I was surprised by the engagement ring. I've been focusing on training to become an Olympic champion. I never expected it," she said.
The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Liu Yuchen and his doubles partner Ou Xuan Yi lost in the group stage after getting a tough draw. "I haven't thought about how we will celebrate," she added.
A similar incident had happened earlier in the ongoing Paris Games when Argentinian Pablo Simonet proposed to his teammate in front of everyone during the grand opening ceremony of the Summer Games 2024. The Argentina's men's handball player had proposed to Argentina's women's hockey team player Maria Campoy.
"... I think this might be my last Olympics, and I wanted to make the most of it because their presence really gives me a lot of strength. Besides our families, there were so many fans and friends at the venue," he said.
"The support they gave us was much greater than we could have imagined. So I'm very, very grateful to them."
