Caught out
Athlete caught with model while spouse was pregnant
China’s badminton star Lin Dan apologises for affair.
Beijing: Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan apologised for cheating on his wife, hours after the affair was exposed online.
Photos featuring the two-time Olympic champion, who became a father two weeks ago, dating a woman during his wife Xie Xingfang’s pregnancy were posted by entertainment reporter Zhao Wu’er on micro blog service Sina Weibo yesterday morning.
“As a man, I don’t defend what I have done. My behaviour has hurt my family. Here, I apologise to my family. Sorry,” Lin wrote on his Sina Weibo account that afternoon.
Lin’s post received more than 100,000 comments within 20 minutes of being published.
One user said, “I’m really so disappointed that my idol did such a shameful thing” while another said, “It doesn’t change all the glories he won for the country”.
One of the country’s most high-profile couples, Lin and Xie – who is also a badminton world champion – started dating in 2004 and got married six years later. Their son was born on Nov 4.
Dubbed “Super Dan” in China, Lin is the only man to have retained the Olympic singles title – in 2008 and 2012 – and is the most successful singles player in the World Championships, winning five times between 2006 and 2013.
Xie, also a former world No. 1, has two World Championship titles and won the silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. — China Daily/Asia News Network