Qinwen Zheng becomes first-ever Chinese player to win Olympic Gold in tennis after dominant win over Donna Vekic
Qinwen Zheng, who played in her first Olympics, beat Donna Vekic in straight sets to win the gold medal in women's singles.
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Qinwen Zheng (Image via Imago)
China’s Qinwen Zheng defeated Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the Paris Olympics to win her first gold medal. Inside Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday (August 3), she emerged victorious in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 to become the first Chinese to win the gold medal in tennis.
Zheng, who outclassed World No. 1 and heavy favorite Iga Swiatek (the bronze medalist) in straight sets in the semifinals, dominated in the first set and did not let the momentum shift in Vekic’s favor. The Croatian tried to deny the 21-year-old an easy win but her efforts went in vain and Zheng quickly finished the match in an hour and 45 minutes to script history.
Zheng, who was taking part in her first Olympics, played her second final at a big event, having reached the summit clash at the Australian Open earlier this year, which she lost to Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. Earlier in her Olympics campaign, she easily went past her opponents in the first and second rounds but had to fight hard against America’s Emma Navarro and Germany’s Angelique Kerber.
Vekic, on the other hand, lost just one set (against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals) before her clash with Zheng. En route to the final, the 28-year-old also knocked out 2022 US Open champion Coco Gauff.
It was also Vekic’s second appearance at the Olympics, having made her debut in the 2020 Tokyo Games where she got knocked out of the third round. She has now become the first tennis player from Croatia to win a silver medal in the Olympics singles.
Qinwen Zheng on cloud nine after winning the Olympic gold
Like every sportsperson, Qinwen Zheng dreamt of winning an Olympic medal for her country and claimed after the match that even the silver or bronze would have satisfied her.
It means a lot. It means everything because since I was a little kid, I really wanted to win a medal for my country.. maybe not gold, just a medal. This time I made it. It was a gold medal. No one did that in tennis in Asia. I feel so happy to make history. When I was watching all the older players, how they created history, I really wanted to be one of them.Qinwen Zheng said after the match
It was China’s second medal in an Olympic tennis event as Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the women’s doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In women’s singles, before Zheng, Li Na was able to reach the semifinals in the 2008 Beijing Games.
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