.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Court Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated along with vermillion banners, incorporating a radiance to the actually orangey sky rising off the red clay court.These were Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" manies themu00e2 $" waving in boisterous help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that would certainly very soon take gold by defeating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s songs tennis final.As she set on the dirt, eyes skyward and fists expanded in to the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravitation seemed to register: Zheng had actually merely created the kind of history that expanded much past the stadium and also the instant. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" as well as Zheng had made clear of the fact that the Olympics were actually as, if not additional, important to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng commemorates her Olympic success on August 3.Photo: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our team regularly think a countryu00e2 $ s respect resides in front end of personal excellence, u00e2 $ she said over a morning meeting at Nikeu00e2 $ s Sportsmen Residence, put inconspicuously in between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Center in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the time after her victory. u00e2 $ I managed [the Video games] differentlyu00e2 $" the feeling, the battle, the attitude: It felt various than every other tournament Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began participating in ping pong at age 7. At grow older 8, she moved, without her mama and also father, to Wuhan for far better coaching, and because teenage years she has profoundly admired and also replicated Chinese athletes, like the ping pong superstar Li Na and also the jogger Liu Xiang, that won gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually challenging, u00e2 $ Zheng said, looking back at those very early times. u00e2 $ My mama utilized to come check out on weekend breaks. When she left behind, I will secure her leg as well as cry. When she was gone, I would certainly consistently keep her coat. This was actually till I was 13. After thirteen, my mommy determined to stop her job and also come stay with me full-time, only to possess much better growth and also better care. Afterwards, it got simpler. And we transferred to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.