.The scene in the platforms at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated along with vermillion banners, including a radiance to the already orangey sky emanating off the reddish clay-based court.These were Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" dozens themu00e2 $" swaying in lively help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, who would quickly take gold by defeating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s single people ping pong final.As she lay down on the gunk, eyes skyward and also fists expanded in to the Paris fog, the winu00e2 $ s gravitational force seemed to be to enroll: Zheng had simply created the sort of past history that prolonged far past the arena and also the second. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had actually created clear of the reality that the Olympics were as, if not additional, important to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic victory on August 3.Image: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our experts consistently think a countryu00e2 $ s tribute is in front end of personal results, u00e2 $ she pointed out over a morning meeting at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete House, put inconspicuously in between the Stade de France and also the Aquatics Facility in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis region, the time after her victory. u00e2 $ I dealt with [the Video games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotional state, the battle, the attitude: It felt different than every other competition Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Born in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began participating in tennis at grow older 7. At grow older 8, she relocated, without her mama and dad, to Wuhan for better mentoring, as well as because adolescence she has actually deeply admired and also followed Chinese athletes, such as the tennis celebrity Li Na and the distance runner Liu Xiang, who gained gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually truly tough, u00e2 $ Zheng claimed, looking back at those early times. u00e2 $ My mother utilized to find see on weekend breaks. When she left behind, I would secure her lower leg and also cry. When she was gone, I would regularly store her coat. This was until I was 13. After thirteen, my mother decided to stop her work and come stay with me full time, only to have better development as well as better care. Afterwards, it received less complicated. And our company moved to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.