.The scene in the platforms at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated with vermillion banners, incorporating a radiance to the actually orangey air originating off the red clay-based court.These were Chinese flagsu00e2 $" manies themu00e2 $" swaying in lively help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that would quickly take gold by beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s songs ping pong final.As she lay down on the dirt, eyes skyward and fists extended in to the Paris fog, the winu00e2 $ s gravitation seemed to register: Zheng had actually only forged the kind of past history that extended much past the coliseum as well as the minute. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had actually made clear of the truth that the Olympics were as, if not even more, important to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng commemorates her Olympic victory on August 3.Photograph: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, we consistently think a countryu00e2 $ s respect is in front of individual effectiveness, u00e2 $ she claimed over an early morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Home, put quietly between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Center in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis place, the time after her triumph. u00e2 $ I handled [the Video games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotional state, the battle, the way of thinking: It felt different than every other tournament Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started participating in tennis at grow older 7. At age 8, she moved, without her mother and also dad, to Wuhan for far better mentoring, and because adolescence she has greatly appreciated and also emulated Chinese sportsmens, like the ping pong celebrity Li Na and the distance runner Liu Xiang, who succeeded gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was truly tough, u00e2 $ Zheng mentioned, remembering at those very early times. u00e2 $ My mama made use of to follow go to on weekend breaks. When she left, I will keep her lower leg as well as cry. When she was gone, I would consistently keep her coat. This was actually up until I was actually 13. After 13, my mommy decided to stop her project and also come stick with me permanent, merely to possess better growth and better care. After that, it obtained less complicated. As well as our company relocated to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.