China Diving Champ matrimonial ceremony

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By Eddie Chan  | Published Dec 2007

China’s diving prince, 2000 and 2004 Olympic champion Tian Liang (R) and 2005 Super Girl contestant Ye Yiqian (L) at their wedding ceremony in Shangri-La Hotel, Xi’an of Northwest China November 29, 2007.

Former world diving champion Tian Liang married his girlfriend, singer Ye Yiqian, in his hometown of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province on November 29.

An extravagant wedding ceremony was held at the fi ve-star Shangri-La Hotel in Xi’an, with some 80 family members and relatives present.

The ceremony, which lasted three hours, included an exchange of rings, the sharing of wedding cake, and tea and fl ower offerings to the parents as an expression of gratitude, the website reported.

An estimated 50 security guards oversaw the ceremony, which boasted 20 dinner tables and $676 per-plate dinners. About 100 reporters also were on site. Ye’s wedding dress reportedly cost more than $13,510.

Tian, the two-time Olympic gold medalist, and his musical bride, a “Super Girl” contestant in 2005, received their offi cial marriage certifi cate in Xi’an a month ago.

Tian and Ye started dating in early 2006, but their relationship was kept under wraps until late October of that year when media reports revealed that Tian had bought an apartment for Ye as a gift.

Now a senior offi cial at Shaanxi Sports Bureau, Tian, who won Olympic golds in the 10-meter platform at the Sydney Games in 2000 and the synchronized platform in Athens in 2004, is one of the most controversial sports star in China.

He was expelled from China’s national team for taking on too many commercial activities and allegedly refused to return to the team following the Athens Olympics.