LI CHAO, the man who won the heart of table tennis darling Li Jiawei, made his first public appearance alongside her in Singapore at last night's Singapore Table Tennis Association fund-raising dinner.
They seemed at ease in each other's company throughout the night at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, despite the prying media - all eager to find out more about the man previously known only as a Beijing businessman in his mid-30s who shared her surname.
The couple met through a mutual friend in March last year, and married in the Chinese capital on Sept 26 after a whirlwind, six-month romance.
He told The Straits Times in Mandarin: 'When I first met her, she looked like she needed someone to take care of her. I am that person.'
That remark brought a smile to Jiawei. With her left hand on his back, she teased: 'You better make sure you live up to your words.'
While his initial impressions of Jiawei were very positive, that was not the first time he saw the world No. 7.
'I had watched her on television during the Athens Olympics,' he said of the 2004 Games, where Jiawei finished fourth in the women's singles. 'It was a real pity she didn't win a medal then.'
Although he was never quite a table tennis fan, Li Chao now has a strong interest in the sport, and has even taken up some lessons - with Jiawei as his coach, of course.
These days, he watches her play whenever he can take time off work. He even offers her pointers.
'Blind advice,' he said with a smile, before revealing how he had told Jiawei to be more steady in her 2008 Olympics women's singles bronze-medal play-off against China's Guo Yue. 'She should have been more aggressive instead.'
For large parts of the 15-minute interview, Li Chao was happy to talk about the sport, and nothing more.
When personal questions were asked, he remained guarded and tight-lipped, often fiddling with his handphone which had a wallpaper featuring a photo of Jiawei.
He has remained low-key since their marriage, resulting in constant speculation on who Jiawei's husband is.
In fact, Chinese media reports had mistakenly identified her hubby as Li Houlin - one of China's top jewellery magnates.
The erroneous reports left Houlin and Jiawei livid but Li Chao played it cool.
The owner of a pharmaceutical business said: 'It's nothing much to me. What's false is false anyway.'
Finally, the real Mr Li showed up.
Besides accompanying her to the dinner, he had another purpose: to meet Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He said: 'I really wanted to see him - he's very charismatic.'
But what does he like most about her?
Jiawei answered on his behalf: 'She's beautiful and generous.'
Instead, he said: 'She's simple, pure and kind-hearted.'
