Top 10 Famous Sports Couples in China
Though Chinese athletes are generally discouraged from dating teammates or fellow athletes, an increasing number of athletes have made their relationships public. Here is a list of the 10 most famous Chinese athletes couples.
1. Li Na & Jiang Shan 李娜-姜山 (Tennis)
Li Na is a Chinese professional tennis player. Li has won 7 WTA and 19 ITF singles titles. Li won the 2011 French Open singles title, becoming the first player from Asia to win a Grand Slam in singles. Li also won Grand Slam singles titles at 2014 Australian Open. Jiang Shan married Li on January 27, 2006 and became her personal coach and he is one of the important motiving factors in Li’s career.
2. Lin Dan & Xie Xinfang 林丹-谢杏芳 (Badminton)
Two time Olympic badminton champion and five-time World champion winner Lin Dan tied the knot with his former teammate and long time girlfriend Xie Xingfang, also a badminton star. They got married in the year of 2012 in Beijing.
3. Yao Ming & Ye Li 姚明-叶莉（Basketball）
NBA star Yao Ming got married to his long-term girlfriend Ye Li in Shanghai in 2007. Yao is a former Houston Rockets star, and his bride Ye is also player on China’s national women’s basketball team. Yao met Ye in 1999, when Yao was playing for the Shanghai Sharks. Their romance went public when the two were seen walking hand-in-hand at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
4. Shen Xue & Zhao Hongbo 申雪-赵宏博 (Figure skating)
Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao are Olympic gold medal pairs skaters. They were married in 2007 in Beijing. In 2010 at the Olympics, they won the gold medal in pair skating. The couple also opened a school in Shenzhen, China to train ice skating coaches.
5. Pang Wei & Du Li 庞伟-杜丽 (Shooting)
China’s two-time Olympic shooting champion Du Li and her husband Pang Wei won the 2008 Olympic Games in the 10-meter air pistol event. They got married in 2009.
6. Tan Xue & Wang Jingzhi 谭雪-王敬之 (Fencing)
Both Tan Xue and Wang Jingzhi are top contenders on the Chinese fencing team. Their romantic love story has touched a large number of fans. Each time Wang Jingzhi wins a match, he kisses the ring on his hand, the symbol of his love for Tan.
7. Liu Guoliang & Wang Jin 刘国梁 – 王瑾 (Table Tennis)
The head Ping Pong coach Liu Guoliang met his wife, Wang Jin, during a training camp in Hebei. Although the team was still very strict in issues about romantic relationships within the team, it did not stop Liu and Wang to see each other and continue with their relationship. With two having their own successes, their relationship started to come out to the open and finally Liu Guoliang and Wang Jin tie the knot in Beijing in 2006.
8. Zhu Fangyu & Hu Mei 朱芳雨 – 胡美 (Basketball and Gymnast )
Zhu Fangyu is a famous basketball player in Chinese men’s team. Zhu met and fell in love with beautiful rhythmic gymnast Hu Mei at Athen Olympics. They got married after the Beijing Olympics in 2008. (They are already divorced now).
9. Zhang Qiuping and Wang Yifu 张秋萍 – 王义夫 (Shooting)
Wang Yifu and Zhang Qiuping are the legendary couple of the Chinese sporting world. The two met in 1983 and both competed in the Seoul Olympic Games as sports shooters in 1988. They got married in 1987.
10. Wang Na and Cai Yun 王娜 – 蔡赟 （Swimming and Badminton）
Wang Na is a synchronized swimmer, and Cai Yun is a badminton player. They tied knot in 2010.
