Badminton stars Tang Jie and Yi Fan's 88.8 per cent 'love match'
Photos and videos of Tang Jie and Yi Fan appearing together at a recent official event have gone viral, setting social media abuzz with speculation about a possible romance between the mixed doubles shuttler and the Chinese women's doubles ace.
Neither has commented publicly, but that hasn't stopped online sleuths from launching full-blown investigations, analysing emojis, interpreting glances, and even claiming there's an "88.8 per cent chance" the rumours are true.
Adding fuel to the fire, netizens cheekily weighed in with playful jabs.
"Not bad. Soon Malaysia will have more women coaches," one user quipped, a nod to the growing trend of Malaysian male shuttlers forming close friendships with foreign female players.
Others joked this could be a new "strategy" to help recruit international talent into the national fold.
But amid the memes and mockery, some fans have called for restraint.
"Whatever their status, what matters is their performance on court. Gossip doesn't earn ranking points," one commenter posted.
On the competitive front, both players fell short of reaching the final at the Japan Open.Tang Jie and his mixed doubles partner Toh Ee Wei lost in the semi-finals to China's world No. 2 pair Jiang Zhen Bang-Wei Ya Xin.
Yi Fan, who plays women's doubles with Zhang Shu Xian, also bowed out in the semis, losing to eventual champions Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning.
Badminton has seen its fair share of high-profile romances.
Among Malaysia's most famous are Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Datin Wong Mew Choo, and current mixed pair Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.
Last month, Malaysian doubles ace Ong Yew Sin tied the knot with former Japanese singles star Aya Ohori.
Other international love matches include Lin Dan and Xie Xingfang, Chen Long and Wang Shixian (both China), Alan Budi Kusuma and Susi Susanti (Indonesia), and Chris and Gabrielle Adcock (England).
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