Olympic champion makes apology for cheating on wife

China's Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan apologized on Thursday for cheating on his wife, hours after the affair was exposed online, shocking and disappointing many fans.

Photos featuring the two-time Olympic champion, who became a father two weeks ago, dating a woman during his wife Xie Xingfang's pregnancy, were posted by entertainment reporter Zhao Wu'er on Weibo, China's major micro blog service, on Thursday morning.

"As a man, I will not defend what I have done. My behavior has hurt my family. I apologize to my family. Sorry," Lin, 33, wrote on his Weibo, which has 3.3 million followers.