China hails Zheng Queen Wen after she says tennis gold brought glory to her ancestors
Teammates Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen took silver in the mixed doubles the day before, and before that only women’s doubles pair Li Ting and Sun Tiantian had medalled. Winning silver in Athens in 2004.
“There is nothing comparable to this victory to me. To me and my family, the Olympics are far more significant than the grand slams,” she said. “In our hearts, the glory for the country is way above the self. I believe all Chinese have this mindset.”
Zheng beat Croatia’s Donna Vekic on Saturday, winning 6-2, 6-3 in a hard-fought gold medal match.
She also upset world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, ending the Polish player’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros.
Zheng said her dream as a young child had been to win Olympic gold, and said her father, former track athlete Zheng Jianping who is known for his harsh discipline, could finally “go around showing me off”.
“Dad, I’ve finally brought glory to our ancestors this time,” she said.
Victory came after a roller coaster week in Paris, where Zheng saved a match point in her third-round win over Emma Navarro and was blasted by the American for possessing a “cut-throat” attitude.
Zheng said she had been motivated by other Chinese athletes who were winning medals for the country, while seeing the China flag in the audience gave her a lift during a singles final that lasted one hour and 45 minutes.
“In this tournament I have this extra energy holding me up … Today even though I’m tired, I feel I’m able to push,” she said.
“Even now, if you ask me to play for three more hours for my country, I could do it again.”
Zheng’s patriotic comments and footage of her parading the court with the flag on her back, before laying it gently on her seat, went viral on Chinese social media, where many netizens praised “Queen Wen” for her patriotism.
“In China, an Olympic gold medal has more impact than a grand slam title. But with the level and ranking of the opponents Zheng defeated, this gold medal is equivalent to winning the French Open,” said one netizen.
“Patriotism inspired Queen Wen’s high level of technique and mentality at the Olympics,” said one Weibo user.
“She has such maturity of speech, I love such a sincere and passionate ‘Patriot Wen’,” said another.
This was not the first time Zheng has put her patriotism on display.
After the quarter-finals in Paris, where she beat former world No 1 Angelique Kerber, Zheng said seeing the Chinese flag gave her a “mental boost” during the gruelling three-hour affair.
And in January, during her Australian Open semi-final against Dayana Yastremska, she took time out during the game to tell fans in the stands that their Chinese flags looked beautiful.
Zheng’s former coach also revealed that she never snacked on junk food, woke up at 4am for training and eats chicken breast and broccoli for 360 days of the year, leaving fans in awe of her self-discipline.
“For such a self-disciplined person, success is no wonder … Seeing her tanned skin and low-body fat, I believe it. Chicken breast and broccoli is exceptionally yucky,” wrote one netizen.
Zheng, who has previously talked about being inspired by two-time grand slam champion Li Na, said she hoped her win could do the same for the next generation.
“I believe in passing the torch to the next generation. If my victory today can inspire a tennis dream in more children, then everything is worth it,” she said.
“I hope in 10 or 20 years, I can see them standing on this same stage, which is the world’s biggest stage, and feel what I am feeling right now. They will learn that life is worth living.”
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