.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated along with vermillion banners, including a radiance to the presently orangey sky originating off the reddish clay court.These were Chinese flagsu00e2 $" manies themu00e2 $" swaying in loud help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that would 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 filth, eyes skyward as well as fists expanded into the Paris fog, the winu00e2 $ s gravitational force seemed to enroll: Zheng had actually only created the sort of background that stretched far past the arena as well as the minute. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had actually made clear of the truth that the Olympics were as, or even additional, necessary to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic success on August 3.Picture: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our company constantly strongly believe a countryu00e2 $ s tribute resides in face of individual effectiveness, u00e2 $ she pointed out over a morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete House, put inconspicuously between the Stade de France and also the Aquatics Center in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the day after her conquest. u00e2 $ I handled [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the feeling, the match, the attitude: It really felt different than intermittent tournament Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started playing ping pong at grow older 7. At age eight, she moved, without her mama as well as papa, to Wuhan for better mentoring, and because adolescence she has heavily admired and also emulated Mandarin sportsmens, such as the ping pong superstar Li Na and also the jogger Liu Xiang, that succeeded gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually hard, u00e2 $ Zheng said, looking back at those early days. u00e2 $ My mommy utilized to come visit on weekend breaks. When she left, I would certainly keep her leg and also cry. When she was gone, I would consistently hold her jacket. This was up until I was actually thirteen. After 13, my mama chose to quit her work and happen stay with me full-time, simply to have far better development and also much better treatment. Afterwards, it obtained easier. As well as we moved to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.