.The performance in the platforms at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Court Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated with vermillion banners, adding a glow to the already orangey air rising off the red clay court.These were actually Chinese flagsu00e2 $" thousands of themu00e2 $" waving in energetic help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, who will soon take gold by beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s songs tennis final.As she put down on the dirt, eyes skyward and also fists expanded right into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravitational force seemed to be to enroll: Zheng had only forged the kind of past history that prolonged far past the stadium as well as the second. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had created clear of the truth that the Olympics were as, if not additional, necessary to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng commemorates her Olympic triumph on August 3.Photograph: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our experts always strongly believe a countryu00e2 $ s honor is in front of personal excellence, u00e2 $ she said over an early morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Property, tucked quietly in between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Facility in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the time after her victory. u00e2 $ I handled [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotional state, the match, the mindset: It felt various than every other event Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began participating in ping pong at age seven. At age 8, she relocated, without her mother and dad, to Wuhan for far better training, and because teenage years she has deeply admired and mimicked Chinese professional athletes, such as the tennis superstar Li Na and also the runner Liu Xiang, that succeeded gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was definitely tough, u00e2 $ Zheng mentioned, recalling at those early times. u00e2 $ My mommy utilized to follow check out on weekends. When she left behind, I would certainly secure her lower leg as well as cry. When she was gone, I would consistently keep her coat. This was actually up until I was 13. After 13, my mother chose to quit her task and also come visit me full-time, merely to have much better development and also better care. After that, it obtained simpler. As well as our experts transferred to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.