Paris Olympics: Zheng Qinwen aims to inspire Chinese girls after historic tennis gold
- She dedicates triumph to her parents for driving her on, saying her father ‘treats the Olympics with more importance than any other event’
New Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen said she wanted to follow in the footsteps of Li Na and help girls in China fall in love with tennis.
The 21-year – old Zheng became the first Asian player to win an Olympic singles title when she overpowered Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 in Saturday’s gold medal match in Paris.
Zheng dedicated the success to her parents, because “they sacrificed a lot for me”, and said her “behaviour, desire and hunger” on the hunt for Olympic gold were different from at any other tournament.
Li – who, like Zheng, hails from Hubei province – won two grand slam titles in a stellar 15-year career. Zheng was a finalist at this year’s Australian Open, where Li won in 2014, but lost in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka.
04:54
“I just made history”: China’s Zheng hopes to enjoy tennis more after Olympic gold win
Recalling that defeat in Melbourne, Zheng said she “had a lot of nerves … my legs were super-heavy and I could only perform at 50 per cent of my level”.