Kuala Lumpur: Just one day after Zhang Nan and Fu Haifeng of China defeated Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia to win the Olympic men’s double title, Zhang Nan’s girl friend of six years – Zhao Yunlei, posted a message on her personal social media page admitted the couple has ended their relationship prior to the Rio Olympics.
Zhao Yunlei and Zhang Nan who were known as the most successful badminton mixed doubles pair of all time, went public with their relationship at the 2010 Japan Open when Zhang Nan was happily hugging and kissing Zhao Yunlei after the pair managed to beat compatriots Tao Jiaming/Tian Qing 21-19, 22-20 to lift the Japan Open title.
While their romantic relationship was going strong off-court, Zhao/Zhang were almost unbeatable on the court in which they’ve won 3 World Championships (2011, 2014, 2015), the London Olympic gold medal, and the 2014 Asia Games gold.
On her social media post, Zhao Yunlei said:
“The Olympics is over, I am also near the end of my professional badminton career. In the past two years, I’ve been both physically and mentally exhausted, and have gone through a lot of ups and down. I was on a verge of emotional collapse. I don’t regret that I chose to forgive and that’s my proudest moment, even surpassing being on stage with a gold medal.
Here, I would like to congratulate Zhang Nan of fulfilling his dream. Wish him a bright future. Finally, it’s the right time for me to response to speculation that swirls around Zhang Nan and me, and yes, Zhang Nan and I have separated prior to Olympics, we are no longer a couple. Wish him well, and hope the fans continue to support him.”
