Social media in China was buzzing with the news yesterday as hundreds of thousands commented on the report after one user, identified only as “Detective Zhao”, uploaded photos of Lin with a “mystery woman”.

The woman was subsequently identified as model and actor Zhao Yaqi.

Lin’s wife Xie Xingfang, a former two-time badminton world champion, gave birth to their first child on Nov 5.

“As a man, I won’t make an excuse for myself. But my behaviour hurt my family, so here I apologise to my family, I’m sorry,” Lin wrote in a short statement on his microblog account, according to the Chinese state media.

The 33-year-old former Olympic champion is a badminton legend, having won the world championship five times. Nicknamed “Super Dan”, Lin has won two Olympic gold medals and was ranked number 1.

He is still ranked number 3 in the world despite failing to win a medal at this year’s Rio Olympics and many consider him among the all-time greats.