JUST three days after a lavish, fairy-tale wedding held in Beijing, Singapore table-tennis star Li Jiawei is going public with the happy news: she's pregnant.

Better still, she intends to deliver her first-born here.

In a telephone interview with The New Paper last night, the national paddler said: 'Li Chao (her husband) and I have discussed (the issue) briefly and it's a given - I'll definitely want to return to Singapore to have our baby here.'

Jiawei, 27, and Chinese businessman Li Chao, 36, registered their marriage in Beijing last September. But they held their traditional ceremony and wedding banquet there only last week.

The national paddler is in Malaysia right now attending to 'some private matters' and will return to Beijing in the next few days.

She said she was not able to confirm how many months she is pregnant as she has yet to see a doctor.

Jiawei added: 'But I'm definitely not four-months pregnant as speculated in some news reports. If I were, then surely my tummy would've been visible to the guests at the wedding banquet!'

She admitted she had initially wanted to hold off the announcement for a while.

One of the main reasons, she explained, was so that she could first inform the Singapore Table-Tennis Association (STTA).

She said: 'I felt it was important that I spoke with Ms Lee (Bee Wah, STTA's president) before doing anything.

'And because I had been busy with the wedding preparations, I just didn't get around to it.'

Until Monday afternoon.

Ms Lee confirmed that Jiawei had sent her an SMS to 'share the good news'.

She said: 'Jiawei sought my advice and asked if she should inform the media about her pregnancy. I encouraged her to share the good news with everyone.'

Ms Lee added: 'I'm extremely happy especially because I know that Li Chao wants to start a family soon.

'And Jiawei, on the other hand, also wants very much to play in the next Olympics, to have another go at both the individual and team medals.'

The timing is now 'just perfect', said Ms Lee, who had not suspected a thing even at the wedding banquet. She said that Jiawei's pregnancy is in line with the time frame that they had discussed, where the baby had to come within 21 months.

Said Ms Lee: 'This would give Jiawei enough time to recover. But right now, I would not want to bother her with anything else. I just want her to rest well and have a healthy baby.'

Ms Lee was not the only one kept in dark - even wedding planner Kerano Heng said she didn't know.

She told The New Paper: 'It was a surprise to us. Jiawei seemed the same and in fact, when we were doing the final fitting (last Wednesday), we asked her if she needed to alter any of the gowns.'

But all the six gowns she brought over fitted Jiawei fine.

Well, except for maybe one.

Said Ms Heng: 'Looking back now, the main wedding dress (hand-sewn with 38,888 Swarovski crystals) seemed to be a little tight at the bustier.'

Kept mum

But when the wedding planner asked Jiawei if she wanted any alteration done, the bride hesitated for a second before saying 'no problem'.

But even if Ms Heng had noticed any difference, she still would not have questioned Jiawei about it.

Ms Heng explained: 'It's taboo in our (bridal services) industry to ask a bride if she's expecting - unless she offers the information herself.

'Some may be embarrassed about it, while the more superstitious ones would generally refrain from any announcement until after the first trimester.'

Still, Ms Heng is happy that all the four gowns Jiawei wore made her look radiant.

The New Paper also understands that both Li Chao and Jiawei have started to make room for the new addition to the family.

The newly-weds have engaged the services of Wideangle Design Associates to draw plans for their new home, located in a prestigious and luxurious district in Beijing.

Owner and general manager Brenda Kok was responsible for the interior design and renovation of Jiawei's private apartment at Kembangan.

Miss Kok told The New Paper: 'Jiawei explained that she and Li Chao had seen several designers in Beijing but he didn't quite like what they proposed.'

Because of this, Jiawei recently invited Miss Kok to visit their new three-storey landed property, which is about 6,800 to 7,000 sq ft.

Said Miss Kok: 'She said they had specially chosen the spot because of the good fengshui.'

While Jiawei was quite happy to leave all ideas to Miss Kok, the couple had only one request.

'There is a master bedroom and two other rooms on the third storey. Jiawei asked that both rooms be designed with a boy and a girl theme each in mind,' said Miss Kok.

The New Paper also broke the good news to Jiawei's fans, who have expressed their support.

Mr Lionel Ang, 39, insurance agent, said: 'It's just timely - she can fulfil her role as a wife and a mother, before returning to training to prepare for the Olympics.'

Another fan, undergrad Weng Limin, 23, said: 'We're happy for Jiawei and her husband.

'What's even better is knowing that she wants to have her baby here. That means, she has not forgotten Singapore is also her home.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.