"I want to tell my friends and fans who have shown concern for me that I am expecting a baby, I believe you will feel happy for me."

Li Jiawei, who held her wedding three days ago on April 25, told Lianhe Zaobao in an exclusive interview yesterday, that she is indeed pregnant.

During the wedding ceremony, many guests congratulated the couple with Chinese sayings wishing that they would be blessed with a child soon.

The host of the ceremony even joked with the couple, asking when their union will "bear fruit".

Jiawei smiled, but did not answer and passed the microphone to her husband. He replied on their behalf that they will have a baby as soon as possible so that Jiawei can compete in the 2012 Olympics.

What the guests did not realise was that the baby was already attending the wedding with them!

Jiawei also told Zaobao that she had not plan to get pregnant so soon and was totally caught unawares.

She had started feeling lethargic of late but thought it was due to the stress of training, preparing for her wedding and taking her driving test all at the same time.

Only after three pregnancy tests did she finally convince herself and her family that she was pregnant.

"My child is very docile and hasn't given me any trouble. Other than being sleepy, I couldn't feel anything. It is also co-operating with the STTA, who wanted him (or her) to come early. Really early," she laughed.

The baby comes right on time as Li and the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA)  had agreed that she should give birth by mid-2010 to give her time to prepare for the 2012 London Olympics.