Japanese figure skater Hanyu marries, making fans happy and sad

The announcement of his marriage draws congratulations from his fanbase, though some seemed sad that the photogenic 28-year-old would no longer be romantically available

2022 Beijing Olympics - Figure Skating - Exhibition Gala - Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China - Feb 20, 2022. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan in action. REUTERS

Japan's Olympic gold-medal winning figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu announced his marriage late Friday, drawing congratulations from his fanbase, though some seemed sad that the photogenic 28-year-old would no longer be romantically available.

Hanyu did not say who his partner was when declaring his new marital status on X, the social media messaging platform formerly as Twitter.

"Thanks (to everyone) for supporting me always ... I've decided to get married this time," he said in the post.

"As I've lived with skating for 24 years, I've thought about various things particularly in the past several years over the fast-changing world including COVID-19 and natural disasters," he added.

The skater's hometown of Sendai suffered extensive damage from the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan's northeast coast in 2011.

Hanyu, who won Olympic gold medals in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games, could not be reached immediately for direct comment.

There was a clear sense of loss in the reaction among many fans both in and outside Japan, as "Hanyu loss" became a fast trending hashtag on social media.

"I'm taking Monday off due to 'Hanyu loss'," read one post on X, while another predicted many more fans would be doing the same.

On China's Weibo messaging app, another fan wrote "the world has become empty."