Jamell Anderson lured Georgia Jones, who plays for England’s women’s team, to the centre of the court on Australia’s Gold Coast with the help of team-mates.
He then surprised her by getting down on one knee, producing an engagement ring and popping the question.
“I had absolutely no idea,” Jones, 28, said. “He told me I was just getting a picture taken.”
“I’m just in shock,” a tearful Jones added, struggling to articulate her emotions.
“I’m pretty speechless myself and I knew it was happening,” said husband-to-be Anderson, 27.
“It’s been on my mind for a while. So now I can just play basketball.”
Anderson said his team-mates made for perfect foils to help get Jones onto the court, ostensibly for a celebratory picture after the English men reached the quarter-finals in front of the watching women’s team.
“They initiated the plan really well, so that went perfectly,” he said.
England’s men beat Cameroon 81-54 to go into the last eight.
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