.The scene in the stands at Roland Garrosu00e2 $ s Courthouse Philippe-Chatrier was dotted along with vermillion ensigns, adding a glow to the actually orangey air originating off the red clay-based court.These were Mandarin flagsu00e2 $" numerous themu00e2 $" waving in energetic help for Qinwen Zheng, 21, that will very soon take gold by beating Croatiau00e2 $ s Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the womenu00e2 $ s singles tennis final.As she set on the gunk, eyes skyward and fists prolonged right into the Paris fog, the winu00e2 $ s gravity seemed to sign up: Zheng had actually merely forged the type of past history that extended much past the arena and also the minute. This was Chinau00e2 $ s first-ever Olympic gold award in the sportu00e2 $" as well as Zheng had created no secret of the fact that the Olympics were as, otherwise more, crucial to her than a Grand Slam.Zheng celebrates her Olympic triumph on August 3.Image: Getty Imagesu00e2 $ In China, we consistently feel a countryu00e2 $ s honor is in face of individual effectiveness, u00e2 $ she stated over an early morning meeting at Nikeu00e2 $ s Professional athlete Residence, tucked quietly between the Stade de France and the Aquatics Facility in Parisu00e2 $ s St. Denis area, the day after her conquest. u00e2 $ I treated [the Games] differentlyu00e2 $" the emotion, the fight, the mentality: It felt various than every other event Iu00e2 $ ve played.u00e2 $ Birthed in 2002 in Shiyan, China, Zheng started playing tennis at age 7. At age eight, she moved, without her mother and also father, to Wuhan for better training, and also since adolescence she has greatly admired and also imitated Mandarin professional athletes, like the ping pong superstar Li Na and the distance runner Liu Xiang, that succeeded gold at the 2004 Athens Games.u00e2 $ It was definitely difficult, u00e2 $ Zheng pointed out, recalling at those very early times. u00e2 $ My mom made use of ahead check out on weekend breaks. When she left behind, I would keep her lower leg and also cry. When she was actually gone, I would certainly consistently hold her jacket. This was actually until I was thirteen. After thirteen, my mom made a decision to stop her task and happen stick with me full-time, merely to have far better growth and also better care. After that, it got simpler. And also our company relocated to Europe when I was actually 17. u00e2 $.