Source: Oriental Image/Ling
[Saba Sports News] On June 18th, a user named “Yuhang Yuan” posted pictures of their wedding on social media. From the images and comments, fans spotted familiar faces including Paris Olympics champion Chen Qingchen, former world No. 1 male doubles player Liang Weikeng, as well as members of the Chinese national team including Ren Xiangyu and Zeng Weihan. A number of Guangdong-born badminton players were also in attendance at the wedding. Combining the many comments, many fans guessed that the groom might be a badminton athlete or coach from the Guangdong team; however, since the wedding was held in Sichuan, the groom’s exact identity became unclear. Later, informed fans revealed that the groom was named Yuan Ao, a Sichuan badminton athlete specializing in men’s doubles and frequently partnering with Zhou Bowei in competitions. According to relevant records, Yuan Ao/Zhou Bowei once paired up to participate in the 2018 National Badminton Championships, making it to the finals only to lose to the Zhejiang duo Wang Sijie/Dong Weijie, ultimately winning silver. Additionally, prior to the Tokyo Olympics, China’s national badminton team had trained in Sichuan. During this time, they played friendly matches against the Sichuan team, engaging in men’s doubles with female doubles players from the national team. At that time, Yuan Ao/Zhou Bowen defeated Jia Yifan/Li Yinhui with a score of 2-0. Afterward, Jia Yifan jokingly remarked that she was “shocked.”