.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Court Philippe-Chatrier was actually dotted with vermillion ensigns, including a glow to the actually orangey air originating off the reddish clay-based court.These were actually Chinese flagsu00e2 $" hundreds of themu00e2 $" waving in loud support for Qinwen Zheng, 21, who would certainly soon take gold through defeating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s single people ping pong final.As she put down on the gunk, eyes skyward and also fists stretched into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravity seemed to be to register: Zheng had actually merely built the sort of past that stretched far past the coliseum and also the second. This was actually Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sportu00e2 $" and also Zheng had made no secret of the simple fact that the Olympics were actually as, if not even more, necessary to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng commemorates her Olympic victory on August 3.Picture: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, we always think a countryu00e2 $ s honor remains in front end of private success, u00e2 $ she mentioned over an early morning conference at Nikeu00e2 $ s Athlete House, put quietly between the Stade de France and also the Aquatics Facility in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis region, the day after her accomplishment. u00e2 $ I treated [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotion, the battle, the mindset: It felt different than intermittent event Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Born in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began playing ping pong at age 7. At age eight, she moved, without her mama as well as father, to Wuhan for better coaching, as well as given that teenage years she has actually profoundly marvelled at and mimicked Mandarin professional athletes, like the ping pong celebrity Li Na and also the runner Liu Xiang, that gained gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was actually truly difficult, u00e2 $ Zheng stated, remembering at those very early days. u00e2 $ My mother used ahead see on weekends. When she left behind, I will hold her lower leg and also cry. When she was actually gone, I would always hold her coat. This was until I was actually 13. After 13, my mom made a decision to quit her work as well as come remain with me full time, simply to possess much better development as well as better care. After that, it obtained easier. As well as our experts relocated to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.