What is success if you don’t have the right people to share it with? And what can be more beautiful than rising in love instead of falling?

Huang Ya Qiong probably had the most magical moment of her entire life when suddenly Liu Yuchen got down on one knee in front of the crowd at La Chapelle Arena right after she won gold at the Olympics.

More info: Huang Ya Qiong

Chinese Olympian Huang Ya Qiong was surprised with a marriage proposal right after she won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Image credits: Scanpix

Image credits: Scanpix

On the 2nd of August, the 30-year-old Chinese badminton player Huang Ya Qiong and her team partner Zheng Siwei won the gold in badminton mixed doubles against South Korean Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun.

Huang and Zheng, who already got silver at the Tokyo Olympics back in 2021, went 3-0 in group play to earn the great place in the quarterfinals. There, they won against Chinese badminton duo Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping (21-16, 21-15) to make the semifinals, where they again won in straight sets (21-14, 21-15), finishing the tournament at 6-0 to secure the first badminton gold handed out at the Olympics.

“I cannot describe the feeling I have because I am too happy, happy and happy,” Huang said. “Getting the gold medal is recognition of our journey.”

Little did Huang know that it was only the beginning of a truly special moment in her life.

Right after the medal ceremony concluded, everyone lost their breath for a moment when suddenly, men’s doubles player Liu Yuchen surprised Huang with a bouquet of flowers and marriage proposal.

The woman burst into tears when the huge crowd cheered for the couple as Liu slipped the ring onto her finger.

“For me, the proposal is very surprising because I have been preparing for the game,” Huang said. “Today I am an Olympic champion and I got proposed (to), so that’s something I didn’t expect,” she shared.

Image credits: Scanpix

Image credits: Scanpix

This heartfelt Olympic moment is not the only one this year. Right before the Paris Games started on the 24th of July, 32-year-old Pablo Simonet, who plays for the Argentinian men’s handball team, proposed to his 34-year-old girlfriend, field hockey player Maria Campoy, at the Olympic Village. The couple have been dating since 2015.

“The woman in my life gave me a ‘yes’ in a dream place, where everything came from and where we fought so much to be,” Pablo shared at the time on his Instagram account.

“I wanted to choose Paris because it was the city where we met, when I was playing in France, in Ivry, so I thought it was the best place to do it, with the Olympic Games, it was the best moment. When we were both selected for our teams, I knew it was the place to do it,” he explained later.

“For me, it was something special, because of our history, because we met in Paris, because we both are representing our country, because the Olympics are the most special competition. I did everything to set the wheels in place and it turned out amazing, even better than I thought. We are very happy together,” he added.

The Chinese Olympian burst into tears when suddenly Liu Yuchen got down on one knee and proposed to her in front of the crowd at La Chapelle Arena

Image credits: Scanpix

Image credits: Scanpix

Image credits: Scanpix

“True love is rare, and it’s the only thing that gives life real meaning,” American novelist Nicholas Sparks said, and I have to admit, I have the exact same opinion.

For me, it is always mesmerizing to see that most of the time, behind every successful person, there’s a very supportive, loving partner who was there all along since the very beginning: through all career highs and lows, peaks and valleys. Therefore, I can only imagine how happy Huang Ya Qiong must be when, along with her highest achievements, the universe blessed her with the ultimate partner as well.

People on the internet couldn’t hold back their joy for such an incredibly beautiful moment