Champ sends love letter by nail

Chen Yibing, world and Olympic rings champion, shows the special painting on his nails. Sun Xiaochen / China Daily

China's top gymnast, Chen Yibing, who won gold medals in the men's rings and team championship at the Guangzhou Asian Games showed a special way to profess his love for his girlfriend.

Keeping the design as a secret until he clinched his second consecutive Asiad rings tile on Tuesday evening, Chen showed his fingernails to the cameras after the victory. The Chinese character 'Na', the last character of his girlfriend He Wenna's name, was followed by the English "No 1" on his middle fingernail.

Chen, 26, fell in love with He, China's top female trampolinist, after they won gold medals at the Beijing Olympics two years ago.

After Chen had his haircut in the Games' Village salon on Nov 7, he asked the manicurist to draw a national flag on his left forefinger nail and his name's last charactor on the right.

An up-close look at the pair's names.

"At first, I thought he needed a national flag painted on his right middle finger. But when he told me he needed the character 'Na', I knew what he wanted to express," said Wang Lin, the manicurist who drew the design for Chen.

Now, after capturing his two gold medals at these Games, Chen hopes he can have a hand, literally, in another.

"I just want to give her another surprise," said Chen of a planned new nail message when He competes on the trampoline.

Led by Chen, manicure has become the most popular service at the salon, Wang said.

"It's interesting. I have never done this before. It's pretty enjoyable, and I have never seen the tools and scissors they (the manicurists) use. They are so dedicated on my nails and I feel so good," said Lutfalla Ebrahim, a midfielder on the Bahrain football team who enjoyed a nail trim in the salon.

China Daily