.The performance in the platforms at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courthouse Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated with vermillion banners, incorporating a radiance to the actually orangey sky originating off the red clay court.These were actually Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" hundreds of themu00e2 $" waving in loud assistance for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that will soon take gold by beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s single people ping pong final.As she put down on the dust, eyes skyward and fists stretched into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravitation seemed to be to register: Zheng had actually just forged the type of record that extended much past the arena and also the minute. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had made no secret of the reality that the Olympics were actually as, otherwise even more, important to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic success on August 3.Photograph: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our company constantly think a countryu00e2 $ s honor remains in face of personal results, u00e2 $ she stated over an early morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Property, tucked quietly in between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Centre in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis location, the day after her conquest. u00e2 $ I alleviated [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotional state, the match, the mindset: It really felt different than intermittent event Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started playing tennis at grow older 7. At age 8, she relocated, without her mother and daddy, to Wuhan for much better coaching, and considering that teenage years she has heavily appreciated and also replicated Mandarin athletes, including the ping pong superstar Li Na and the runner Liu Xiang, that succeeded gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually definitely tough, u00e2 $ Zheng claimed, looking back at those very early times. u00e2 $ My mother utilized to follow browse through on weekends. When she left behind, I will hold her leg as well as cry. When she was actually gone, I would regularly hold her coat. This was actually till I was thirteen. After 13, my mother made a decision to stop her job as well as come stay with me full time, only to possess far better growth and far better treatment. After that, it acquired easier. As well as we transferred to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.