.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually dotted along with vermillion ensigns, incorporating a radiance to the actually orangey air emanating off the red clay-based court.These were Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" thousands of themu00e2 $" waving in energetic support for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that will very soon take gold through defeating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s single people tennis final.As she lay down on the filth, eyes skyward and fists extended right into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravitation appeared to enroll: Zheng had merely forged the type of past that prolonged much past the arena and also the second. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had created clear of the simple fact that the Olympics were as, otherwise additional, necessary to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic victory on August 3.Photo: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, we constantly feel a countryu00e2 $ s honor remains in front of individual success, u00e2 $ she pointed out over an early morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Residence, put discreetly between the Stade de France and also the Aquatics Centre in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis region, the day after her conquest. u00e2 $ I managed [the Gamings] differentlyu00e2 $" the feeling, the fight, the mentality: It really felt various than intermittent competition Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started playing ping pong at age seven. At age eight, she relocated, without her mom and also daddy, to Wuhan for better training, and given that teenage years she has deeply admired as well as mimicked Chinese professional athletes, such as the tennis superstar Li Na and the jogger Liu Xiang, who gained gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was definitely difficult, u00e2 $ Zheng mentioned, remembering at those early days. u00e2 $ My mom made use of to follow visit on weekend breaks. When she left, I would secure her lower leg as well as weep. When she was gone, I will always hold her coat. This was up until I was actually 13. After 13, my mommy decided to stop her work as well as happen stick with me full time, merely to possess better growth and far better care. Afterwards, it got simpler. And we relocated to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.