.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier was actually dotted along with vermillion streamers, incorporating a radiance to the actually orangey sky rising off the reddish clay court.These were Chinese flagsu00e2 $" manies themu00e2 $" swaying in lively help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that would quickly take gold through beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s single people tennis final.As she put down on the dirt, eyes skyward as well as fists stretched right into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravity seemed to be to enroll: Zheng had just created the sort of record that stretched far past the coliseum as well as the second. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had made no secret of the reality that the Olympics were actually as, if not additional, crucial to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic success on August 3.Picture: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, we regularly think a countryu00e2 $ s tribute remains in front of individual excellence, u00e2 $ she said over a morning appointment at Nikeu00e2 $ s Athlete House, put discreetly in between the Stade de France and also the Aquatics Center in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the day after her victory. u00e2 $ I managed [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotional state, the fight, the mindset: It really felt various than intermittent event Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Born in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began playing ping pong at age seven. At age eight, she moved, without her mother and daddy, to Wuhan for better training, and also given that teenage years she has actually heavily admired as well as replicated Chinese professional athletes, including the tennis celebrity Li Na as well as the jogger Liu Xiang, that won gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was truly tough, u00e2 $ Zheng mentioned, remembering at those very early times. u00e2 $ My mama utilized to find check out on weekends. When she left behind, I will keep her leg and cry. When she was actually gone, I would constantly store her jacket. This was actually up until I was thirteen. After thirteen, my mommy chose to quit her task and happen stick with me full-time, merely to possess far better development as well as much better treatment. Afterwards, it received less complicated. And our team moved to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.