Malaysian shuttler Ong Yew Sin and his Japanese wife Aya Ohori recently recalled how they first met, with Ong proudly bragging that he managed to court his wife after just a few months.

Ong and Ohori got married in June last year to complete the happy ending of two shuttlers who met and got to know each other since they were teenagers.

“We have known each other since I was 17. She was a year younger then. It was at a Singapore junior tournament. I remember we first met at a taxi event after the tournament,” recalled Ong, 31.

Despite the pair developing friendship and later affection for each other, the men’s doubles shuttler admitted the long-distance took a toll on the couple.

“It was not easy, as we could only meet during tournaments. We did suffer a few break-ups as a result of the long-distance, but I ended up taking that as a challenge to be stronger in our relationship,” added Ong.

The couple’s persistence paid off when Ong proposed to the former women’s singles shuttler in March last year, before they registered their marriage three months later and held a private ceremony last November.

Ohori’s family came from Japan for the ceremony, which was hailed by the international badminton community for their cross-cultural love affair.

While Ong continues to play professionally, Ohori officially hung up her racquet at the end of the 2024 season at the age of 27.

That year was her season-best in terms of achievement as she won the Thailand Masters and Australian Open, besides bagging bronze medals with Japan at the Asia Team Championships and Uber Cup.