Sports couples face a romantic dilemma

With the Qixi Festival - Chinese Valentine's Day - overlapping with the Rio Olympics on Tuesday, young couples faced the dilemma of choosing between sports and love.

However, it is possible to enjoy the best of both worlds if you and your partner are Olympic athletes.

Due to rigorous training schedules, top sporting couples struggle to see each other, let alone share words of love over a candlelit dinner. Being able to take part in the sport they love with those that they love is like a dream come true.

So, who are these couples at the Rio Olympics?

Du Li and Pang Wei

Du Li, a Chinese shooting champion, lost out on a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but won a gold medalist husband instead. The couple married in 2009, becoming the first couple in Chinese sports history to both win gold medals (Du in 2004). After their son was born in 2010, they prioritized family over sport, but are still taking part in the Rio Games, where Du finished second in women's 10m air rifle and Pang third in the 10m air pistol.

Matthew and Katerina Emmons

Chinese are familiar with this US couple who have competed several times against Chinese shooters. At the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, Matthew Emmons choked in the 50m rifle event giving away the gold medals to Jia Zhanbo and Qiu Jian. Matthew won the gold medal in the 50m rifle prone competition at Athens in 2004 and his wife Katerina beat Du Li to the gold in Beijing in 2008.

Ashton and Brianne Eaton

Champions, world record holders and dominance are words used to describe the Eatons, who have dominated their track and field rivals for the past decade. Ashton, from the US, with one Olympic gold medal, two world records and five world championships under his belt, is looking to add another decathlon gold to his haul. Brianne, a 2016 world pentathlon champion, will be competing for Canada in the women's heptathlon in Rio.

He Zi and Qin Kai

When Qin Kai lost to Ilya Zakharov in the men's 3m springboard final at the London Olympics in 2012, He Zi, the synchronized 3m springboard champion, went to the pool to comfort him and lent him a shoulder to cry on. Since then, gossip about the couple has surfaced on Sina Weibo, despite their best efforts to keep a low profile. From roses to matching T-shirts, it is clear that their relationship is more than just teammates.

Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei

They are the only Olympic gold medalist badminton couple in the world and the leading contenders for gold in Rio. Their relationship first surfaced when they won the mixed doubles championship in the Japan super series in 2010. After five years, they finally became engaged, but decided to postpone the wedding until after the Olympics.

Chen Long and Wang Shixian

The couple's relationship is no secret. Many players on China's badminton team even refer to Wang as "Mrs Long". At a tournament in 2013, when Chen was struggling against Malaysian player Chong Weifeng, fans cheered for him, saying: "Come on, Wang has already won." Chen's face lit up after hearing this and eventually he won the match. Wang is ranked the ninth best female player in the world and has four world champion titles. However, she isn't on this year's Chinese Olympic team, but will support Chen all the way.