Rio Olympics semi-finalist Lin Dan admits cheating on pregnant wife, apologises to family and fans

Beijing: Ace Chinese badminton player Lin Dan, who defeated India's Kidambi Srikanth in the quarter-finals of 2016 Rio Olympics, has apologised for an extra-marital affair he had when his wife was pregnant, shortly after his "intimate" photos with a model went viral on social media.

The news soon went viral with more than a million views of the page with hashtag "Lin Dan's affair" on Sina Weibo with many Net users saying Lin had won on the game court but failed his supporters.

Photos exposed by an insider of the entertainment field who named himself as "Detective Zhaowuer" showed that Lin hugging and kissing Zhao Yaqi, a model and actress in a hotel room in October and the two were also seen in an intimate position in a month later when Lin's wife, Xie Xingfang, who is also a badminton player, was pregnant.

In response to the exposure, Lin who enjoys vast popularity wrote on his Sina Weibo account on Thursday that "as a man, I do not want to defend myself for what I have done. My behaviour has hurt my family. I hereby apologise to my family," state-run Global Times reported today.

Two sponsors who planned to cooperate with Lin have cancelled their plans, according to news site, myzaker.com.

His other sponsors, including Yonex, D&G and Montblanc, have not made any comment on whether they will suspend their sponsorships as of press time.

(With PTI inputs)