Published on : 06/08/2024
Ouvrons Grand les Jeux, Games wide open！
The highly anticipated Paris Olympics is held from July 26 to August 11.
The "Our China Story" website has specially launched a Paris Olympics special series, capturing every splendid moment and sharing interesting stories of it.
This article introduces the 21-year-old Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen (鄭欽文), the reigning women's singles tennis gold medallist.
Zheng Qinwen's road to championship was paved by her father
One of the major breakthroughs of the Team China in the Paris Olympics was that Zheng Qinwen, known as "Queen Wen", historically won the gold medal in women's singles tennis.
Zheng has not only claimed China's very first Olympic tennis singles gold, but also become the first Asian athlete to dominate this event.
The path to victory for Zheng Qinwen was indeed paved by her father, Zheng Jianping (鄭建坪).
Former athlete Zheng Jianping, whose biggest regret is that he could not win the world championship and bring honour to his country.
When Zheng Qinwen was born, Zheng Jianping once thought his dream would be shattered. But he quickly noticed that Zheng Qinwen had a spirit of never giving up, which is the most important trait for an athlete.
In fact, Zheng Jianping didn't want Zheng Qinwen to become an athlete at the beginning, because she was physically too weak and frequently needed medical attention.
To improve her physical condition, Zheng Qinwen began learning to play table tennis at the age of 4, and later learned to play basketball.
However, it quickly became clear that Zheng Qinwen did not like table tennis or basketball. At the same time, Zheng Jianping noticed that she enjoys sports where she feels in control.
The table tennis court is too small to allow free movement, and it lacks a sense of control; basketball is a team sport which mainly needs coordination and also cannot let her feel in control.
Then, Zheng Jianping thought of tennis. Therefore, at the age of 6, Zheng Qinwen stepped onto a tennis court.
Zheng Qinwen stepped on her way to professional tennis
As expected, Zheng Qinwen enjoyed tennis very much and demonstrated exceptional talent on her first lesson.
Later, as Zheng's tennis skills improved, her father decisively chose to help her pursue a professional career of tennis.
However, from the very beginning, Zheng Jianping gave up the way chosen by most Chinese athletes. He wanted her to go on her own with a private team.
Yu Liqiao (余麗橋), the coach of the provincial team at the time, was one of Zheng Jianping's targets. Bu Yu did not agree at first, thinking that Zheng Qinwen wasn't tall enough and was slightly overweight. She doubted her potential to excel.
In desperation, Zheng Jianping sought support from others to persuade Yu. There was even once that the entire family knelt down before Yu and pleaded earnestly.
Zheng Qinwen and Zheng Jianping shared a consensus that "only through extreme effort can one unlock their talent".
The father chose a non-institutional route, shouldering all profits and losses. To support his daughter's tennis training, he almost risked his entire fortune.
After Zheng Qinwen became a professional player, the costs of training skyrocketed. The cost of competing in Europe, for example, started at CNY 3 million per year.
The entire coaching team behind Zheng Qinwen, including all expenses such as flight tickets and accommodation, were solely borne by him.
In the most difficult times, Zheng Jianping even had to sell his house.
Zheng Qinwen once got beaten up for losing
The more invested he was, the greater the pressure came. Once during a match where Zheng Qinwen was about to lose, Zheng Jianping laid hands on his daughter.
Actually, Zheng Jianping was not afraid of losing; a single match's loss or win didn't matter. He was afraid that Zheng Qinwen would lose her confidence because of it.
During a competition time-out, Zheng Jianping blew up at Zheng Qinwen. He believed that only such an extreme method could "wake her up".
Through Zheng Jianping's relentless effort, Zheng Qinwen lived up to expectations and finally became a "hardworking genius".
Zheng Jianping, who guided Zheng Qinwen in the beginning, once revealed that in order to maintain her body fat rate, Zheng Qinwen never eats snacks or drinks beverages. She would only have chicken breast meat and broccoli.
When training, Zheng Qinwen never slacked off; she would wake up at 4 am and always become the first to arrive at the court and the last one to leave.
Zheng Qinwen finally achieved success
The year 2023 marked the first high point in Zheng Qinwen's career. She claimed the championship in WTA 250 Palermo and also won the women's singles gold medal in Hangzhou Asian Games.
Arriving at the Paris Olympics, the disciplined Queen Wen never thought of giving up.
She bravely faced Iga Świątek, who had long stood at the top of the world's rankings, in the finals. The results of their previous matches were completely one-sided, with Zheng losing in their six matchups.
Zheng Qinwen followed her own heart and gave herself a chance. Eventually, she not only won her first Olympic gold medal but also claimed China's first gold medal in the women's singles tennis at the Olympics, breaking the monopoly of Europe and the United States.
Zheng Jianping led the road to victory for Zheng Qinwen, and she reached the finish line with her own persistence.
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