Chinese tennis team wins historic gold medal at the Olympics.
Báo Dân trí•20/11/2024
(Dan Tri Newspaper) - For the first time in history, Chinese tennis has won a gold medal in the singles event at the Olympics. Zheng Qinwen defeated Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the women's singles final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Zheng Qinwen and Donna Vekic both faced a historic moment as they had the opportunity to bring home the first Olympic gold medal in singles for their respective countries. The final result of the match, which took place this evening (August 3rd), saw the Chinese player win 2-0 after 1 hour and 46 minutes at the Philippe Chatrier court (Paris, France).
Zheng Qinwen became the gold medalist in the women's singles at the 2024 Olympics (Photo: Getty).
Before the women's singles final, sixth seed Zheng Qinwen had the advantage due to her higher ranking. The Chinese player had also shown excellent form, including defeating former world number one Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals and top seed Iga Swiatek (winner of Roland Garros in 4 out of the last 5 years) in the semifinals. However, Vekic was not intimidated. The 28-year-old had been playing incredibly well recently, winning 13 of her last 15 matches and reaching her first final of the year in Bad Homburg. She then continued her good form to reach the semifinals of her first major tournament at Wimbledon. The Croatian player narrowly lost to Jasmine Paolini, saving a series of match points before losing 10-8 in the third set tie-break.
Vekic didn't get off to a good start in the decisive match (Photo: Getty).
However, the world No. 21 WTA player got off to a poor start in the gold medal match, losing her serve in the first game (0-2). Vekic put great pressure on Zheng Qinwen in the third game, having two opportunities to break back, but the Chinese player successfully saved both games. Constantly pushing ahead in the score, Zheng Qinwen put significant pressure on her opponent in game 8, where Vekic was broken again, giving Zheng Qinwen a 6-2 victory in the first set. Zheng Qinwen continued her strong start in the second set, breaking Vekic's serve in the first game (2-0). Vekic fought back immediately afterward, and the scenario changed as she easily broke back (1-2). The two players battled fiercely, and in game 8, Zheng Qinwen broke Vekic's serve again (5-3). Having won the crucial game, the Chinese player easily secured the 6-3 victory, thus ending the gold medal match.
Zheng Qinwen threw down her racket and lay on the court to celebrate after winning (Photo: Getty).
Iran has again blockaded the Strait of Hormuz.On June 19, Iran reimposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israel's refusal to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and the continued presence of US troops in the region.
Zheng Qinwen is currently on an 11-match winning streak since returning to clay after her first-round loss at Wimbledon. Prior to the Olympics, Zheng successfully defended her WTA 250 Palermo title on clay. With Zheng Qinwen's gold medal, China also secured its second Olympic gold medal in tennis. Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the Olympic gold medal in women's doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Báo Dân trí•20/11/2024
