Retired Chinese gymnastics star Yang Wei is embroiled in controversy again as Chinese netizens are questioning how he knew the gender of his baby-to-be before the baby was born.

In China, it is not allowed to know the gender of the fetus before the birth.

Yang, the double gold medalist at last year's Beijing Olympics, and his wife Yang Yun, a bronze medalist in the uneven bars at the Sydney Games, have asked site visitors to their personal website to name their son. Yang Yun is set to deliver her baby in November.

"We can't know the baby's gender in advance but you can?" someone was quoted as saying in Metropolis Express.

However, Yang told Xinhua on Saturday that he and his wife have always known the sex of their child after an examination with the hospital and said "naming his son is a headache".

This is not the first time that Yang has been publicly criticized.

After his success in Beijing, where he won gold in the men's all- around and helped China to the team title, Yang married his long-term girlfriend Yang Yun in a luxurious wedding ceremony. The couple spent 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) on a wedding dress made by gold and held two press conferences.

He retired in May, an unusual move among Chinese Olympians who participated in the Beijing Games; most of the Olympians will move on to compete at the National Games in November. The move was questioned and linked to rumors that he was not happy with any winning prize promised by officials with the Hubei province, which he would represent if he competes at the National Games.

(China Daily July 28, 2009)