.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated along with vermillion banners, incorporating a radiance to the already orangey air rising off the reddish clay court.These were actually Chinese flagsu00e2 $" dozens themu00e2 $" swaying in energetic help 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 gunk, eyes skyward and also fists stretched into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravity seemed to be to enroll: Zheng had actually simply created the type of background that expanded much past the stadium as well as the minute. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had created no secret of the simple fact that the Olympics were as, if not more, significant to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic success on August 3.Photograph: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our experts always strongly believe a countryu00e2 $ s tribute resides in face of personal excellence, u00e2 $ she stated over an early morning meeting at Nikeu00e2 $ s Athlete Home, tucked discreetly in between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Facility in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the day after her victory. u00e2 $ I handled [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the feeling, the match, the mindset: It felt various than every other competition Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started participating in tennis at grow older 7. At grow older 8, she relocated, without her mama and also dad, to Wuhan for better coaching, and also considering that teenage years she has heavily admired and replicated Mandarin athletes, such as the ping pong superstar Li Na and also the jogger Liu Xiang, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually hard, u00e2 $ Zheng claimed, recalling at those early times. u00e2 $ My mommy used ahead check out on weekend breaks. When she left, I would secure her leg as well as cry. When she was gone, I would certainly consistently store her coat. This was until I was actually 13. After thirteen, my mama made a decision to stop her project and come stick with me full time, simply to have better growth as well as better care. After that, it obtained easier. And our experts relocated to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.