# Huang Yaqiong (黄雅琼)
**Huang Yaqiong** (黄雅琼, born 1994) is a retired Chinese badminton player who specialized in mixed doubles and, with partner Zheng Siwei, won the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after taking silver at the Tokyo Games.[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/yaqiong-huang/46457) • [2](https://allbadmintonplayers.com/huang-yaqiong/) • [3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) Widely regarded as one of the leading mixed doubles specialists in the sport's history, she spent 241 weeks ranked world number 1 alongside Zheng Siwei and won 45 international titles in their seven years together.[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/huang_yaqiong) • [3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1994, China; raised in Quzhou, Zhejiang province[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/yaqiong-huang/46457) • [4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/huang_yaqiong) |
| Specialization | Mixed doubles, played frontcourt in the traditional formation[1](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/yaqiong-huang/46457) |
| Zheng Siwei partnership | From November 2017; 241 weeks at world No. 1, 45 international titles, 90.21% overall win rate[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) |
| Olympic results | Silver at Tokyo 2020 (held 2021); gold at Paris 2024[2](https://allbadmintonplayers.com/huang-yaqiong/) |
| Peak season | 2022: ten titles in a single year, including a 35-match winning streak across seven unbeaten tournaments[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) • [5](https://badminton-insight.com/5-reasons-why-zheng-siwei-and-huang-yaqiong-are-so-good/) |
| BWF awards | Female Player of the Year 2018; Pair of the Year (with Zheng Siwei) 2022[6](https://annualreport.bwfbadminton.com/2018/static/_content/bwf_annual_report_2018.pdf) • [7](https://www.ocagames.com/HZ_Info/AG2022-/en/results/badminton/athlete-profile-n2018753-huang-yaqiong.htm) |
| Retirement | Withdrew from the national team on 1 January 2025 after 12 years; formal retirement ceremony 21 December 2025 in Hangzhou[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) • [8](https://www.ehangzhou.gov.cn/2025-12/22/c_296255.htm) |
## Early career and the Lu Kai partnership
Huang Yaqiong was born and raised in Quzhou, a city in Zhejiang province, and entered China's national second team in 2012.[4](https://notablepeopleproject.org/huang_yaqiong) • [3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) She was then paired with Lu Kai, who was three years her senior, and the two were developed as a key mixed doubles combination for the Tokyo cycle.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
The 2017 spring season was the partnership's peak. Between March and April 2017, Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong reached the finals of six consecutive tournaments, winning four of them; across 30 matches they lost only twice, both to teammates, and their win rate against foreign pairs was 100%. Their world ranking rose to number 2.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) The run ended at the May 2017 [Sudirman Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudirman-cup), where the pair lost their match and China failed to retain the trophy, and at that year's World Championships they exited in the quarterfinals.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
## Partnership with Zheng Siwei
In November 2017 Huang Yaqiong formed a new partnership with Zheng Siwei. Having known each other since childhood, the pair began winning immediately, and fans nicknamed them the "Yasi" (雅思) combination.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) Over seven years as partners they held the world number 1 ranking for 241 weeks, a record duration for a mixed doubles pair, won 45 international titles, and compiled a 90.21% overall win rate.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) Their major titles included the 2018 [Asian Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/asian-games) and China Open, the 2019 All England Open, and multiple World Championships.[9](https://www.badzine.net/wp-content/uploads/2018-Results-winners.pdf) • [10](https://badmintoneurope.com/documents/88619/0/England%20Yearbook%202024/4737e5a3-8f84-837d-bb99-70529c5aab8f)
**Tokyo disappointment.** Zheng Siwei was hampered by injury during the most critical phase of Tokyo-cycle preparation, and at the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 after its delay, the pair entered as favorites but lost the final to their Chinese teammates [Wang Yilyu](https://www.edgepedia.org/wang-yilyu) and [Huang Dongping](https://www.edgepedia.org/huang-dongping), taking silver.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) • [2](https://allbadmintonplayers.com/huang-yaqiong/) At 27, Huang Yaqiong considered whether to continue, but decided to make Paris her final Olympic campaign and committed fully to a second attempt.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
**Rebuild and 2022 dominance.** After briefly splitting and re-forming the partnership, the pair came back stronger. In 2022 they won ten titles in a single year, and at one stage were unbeaten across seven consecutive tournaments with a 35-match winning streak.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) • [5](https://badminton-insight.com/5-reasons-why-zheng-siwei-and-huang-yaqiong-are-so-good/) At the 2022 BWF Player of the Year Awards the pair received the Pair of the Year award.[7](https://www.ocagames.com/HZ_Info/AG2022-/en/results/badminton/athlete-profile-n2018753-huang-yaqiong.htm)
## Paris 2024 and retirement
At the Paris Olympics, Huang Yaqiong, then 30, and Zheng Siwei won the mixed doubles title, completing a career Grand Slam and making up for the Tokyo final.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) Immediately after the victory, her partner of several years, the Tokyo Olympic men's doubles silver medalist Liu Yuchen, proposed to her on court, and she accepted.[2](https://allbadmintonplayers.com/huang-yaqiong/) • [3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
On 1 January 2025 Huang Yaqiong announced on social media that she had submitted her withdrawal from the national team, ending a 12-year national team career. She cited accumulated injuries and her age, and said she would remain involved in badminton in her own way, offering to help train national team players.[3](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html) A formal retirement ceremony for her, Zheng Siwei, Chen Qingchen, and Liu Yuchen was held in Hangzhou on 21 December 2025.[8](https://www.ehangzhou.gov.cn/2025-12/22/c_296255.htm)
## Playing style
Analysts describe her net play and deception as exceptional: she reads the game well around the net, making small calculated movements and moving to intercept before her opponent has hit the shuttle.[5](https://badminton-insight.com/5-reasons-why-zheng-siwei-and-huang-yaqiong-are-so-good/) A study of the pair's first three strokes, based on 20 match videos, found that serving placement was central to their tactics: they favored the shortest frontcourt serve line (area 1, 43.48% of serves), which leaves opponents less time to react, and their per-match serve scoring and losing rates were 51.11% and 48.89% respectively.[11](https://www.fx361.com/page/2022/0706/10536058.shtml) On the return of serve she most often played a soft net shot to engage the opposing female player at the net, an area where she was among the best in the world.[5](https://badminton-insight.com/5-reasons-why-zheng-siwei-and-huang-yaqiong-are-so-good/)
## References
1. [Yaqiong Huang, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/yaqiong-huang/46457)
2. [Huang Yaqiong biography: titles, Olympics, career, All Badminton Players](https://allbadmintonplayers.com/huang-yaqiong/)
3. [结束12年国家队生涯 黄雅琼深耕热爱奔赴山海, 国家体育总局 (General Administration of Sport of China)](https://www.sport.gov.cn/n20001280/n20067662/n20067613/c28385288/content.html)
4. [Huang Yaqiong, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/huang_yaqiong)
5. [5 Reasons Why Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong Are So Good, Badminton Insight](https://badminton-insight.com/5-reasons-why-zheng-siwei-and-huang-yaqiong-are-so-good/)
6. [BWF Annual Report 2018](https://annualreport.bwfbadminton.com/2018/static/_content/bwf_annual_report_2018.pdf)
7. [Badminton HUANG Yaqiong, The 19th Asian Games athlete profile](https://www.ocagames.com/HZ_Info/AG2022-/en/results/badminton/athlete-profile-n2018753-huang-yaqiong.htm)
8. [Retirement ceremony held for 4 players of Chinese Badminton Team in Hangzhou, Xinhua](https://www.ehangzhou.gov.cn/2025-12/22/c_296255.htm)
9. [2018 Major Tournament Winners, Badzine](https://www.badzine.net/wp-content/uploads/2018-Results-winners.pdf)
10. [England Yearbook 2024, Badminton Europe](https://badmintoneurope.com/documents/88619/0/England%20Yearbook%202024/4737e5a3-8f84-837d-bb99-70529c5aab8f)
11. [羽毛球混双运动员郑思维、黄雅琼前三拍技战术特征研究, 参考网](https://www.fx361.com/page/2022/0706/10536058.shtml)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Badminton › Badminton players, teams, and governance › Badminton players of East and Southeast Asia*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license