.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Court Philippe-Chatrier was actually populated along with vermillion banners, including a glow to the currently orangey air rising off the red clay court.These were actually Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" thousands of themu00e2 $" swaying in lively assistance for Qinwen Zheng, 21, who will very soon take gold by beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s singles ping pong final.As she lay down on the gunk, eyes skyward as well as fists expanded right into the Paris haze, the winu00e2 $ s gravitational force seemed to sign up: Zheng had merely created the sort of past history that stretched much past the coliseum and also the minute. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" and Zheng had actually made clear of the reality that the Olympics were actually as, or even even more, essential to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic triumph on August 3.Photo: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, our team consistently believe a countryu00e2 $ s respect remains in face of individual success, u00e2 $ she mentioned over a morning meeting at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Property, tucked inconspicuously between the Stade de France as well as the Aquatics Center in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis location, the time after her victory. u00e2 $ I alleviated [the Video games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotion, the match, the mindset: It really felt various than intermittent competition Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng began playing ping pong at age 7. At age eight, she relocated, without her mama and also father, to Wuhan for far better training, and considering that teenage years she has actually deeply appreciated as well as imitated Mandarin sportsmens, like the tennis celebrity Li Na and also the jogger Liu Xiang, that gained gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was really challenging, u00e2 $ Zheng stated, looking back at those early times. u00e2 $ My mom utilized to find go to on weekends. When she left, I will secure her lower leg and also weep. When she was actually gone, I would certainly constantly keep her coat. This was actually until I was actually 13. After 13, my mommy determined to quit her task and also happen stay with me permanent, only to have much better growth and also much better care. After that, it received much easier. As well as our experts transferred to Europe when I was 17. u00e2 $.