PARIS: Right before Zheng Qinwen delivered the very first serve of a victory that would deliver China’s very first Olympic tennis singles gold medal, loud shouts of “Jia You!” in Mandarin rang out from all sections of Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday as fans waved the country’s red-and-yellow flags.
It’s a phrase that literally means “Add oil!” — in other words, “Hit the gas!” — and is loosely equivalent to “Let’s go!” Those yells resumed right after Zheng’s opponent in the 2024 Paris Games women’s final, Donna Vekic of Croatia, put her return into the net. And they were heard over and over again on a breezy, cloudy afternoon whenever things went Zheng’s way.
Which was rather often. The 21-year-old Zheng earned the biggest title of her still-nascent career by defeating Vekic 6-2, 6-3 with the same powerful serves and groundstrokes she used to eliminate No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.
“I always want to become one of the Asians that can inspire young kids and make them love tennis more, because tennis is such a great sport, especially for girls. You need to fight. You need to have strength. You need to be fast,” said Zheng, who signed several autographs for members of the crowd after the match. “After this gold medal, I feel, finally, I can play tennis more relaxed.”

Not that she hadn’t already shown plenty of promise. Zheng is ranked No. 7, after all, and was the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the hard-court Australian Open in January.
This triumph, though, could make her a real star at home. International Tennis Hall of Fame member Li Na is the only Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title — at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open — and served as inspiration for Zheng when she was a kid learning the sport.
“I have always been jealous of history-makers like Li Na,” Zheng said. “No matter what, she’s always the first, because she’s the first Asian player to win a Grand Slam. And I now become the first Asian player to win Olympic gold. I made history, as well. However, I still have a long way to go, because winning a Grand Slam is always my dream.”
The Olympic tennis matches are being played at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility that hosts the annual French Open. Swiatek is a four-time champion at that event, including titles there the past three years, and carried a 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros into her matchup with Zheng.
But Swiatek ended up with the bronze for Poland, and she snapped a selfie with Zheng and Vekic during the medal ceremony.
Vekic, a 28-year-old who is No. 21 in the rankings, got a silver three weeks after being a semifinalist on the grass courts at Wimbledon. She was so worn out by that run at the All England Club that she considered withdrawing from the Olympics.
“I had pain in my arm. Pain in my ankle. I was sick,” Vekic said. “Everything was happening all at once.”
In Paris, Vekic found her stride, including a victory over US Open champion Coco Gauff. On Saturday, that Vekic seemed spent, bending over and leaning on her racket.
What Zheng was most proud of, what she thinks made a big difference for her over the past week, was her patience during points and mental strength between them.
“If you talk about shots, I have better shots than Vekic. I know it,” Zheng said. “But in the final, it’s not about shots.”
After Zheng forced an error with a huge forehand to break serve and own the first set, she soon went up 2-0 in the second. That’s where Vekic made a bit of a stand, stealing one of Zheng’s service games and getting to 2-all.
But — with chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore asking spectators to refrain from making noise during points — Zheng took control anew, breaking to lead 5-3. When she smacked a forehand to close the win, Zheng slid onto her back on the clay, then got a Chinese flag from the stands, held it like a cape to roars and draped it over her sideline chair.
It wasn’t just Li who received a piece of credit from Zheng during her news conference.
Zheng spoke about admiring Roger Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion who retired in 2022, and studying his matches to learn technique and tactics: “The way that he plays — so classy,” she said. She talked about looking up to Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, whose victory in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Games was the nation’s first gold for a man in track and field.
And she discussed — and made sure to thank publicly — her parents. They started her in tennis at age 7. Mom quit her job when Qinwen was 12 to make sure she ate and slept properly. Dad, she said, “always pushed me hard,” taking her to a track to run up and down stairs, even on the Chinese New Year, when “everybody rests. But me? There’s no day of rest.”
“My success is not only my success. A lot of that is coming from my parents,” Zheng said. “They teach me how to be disciplined. They teach me how to stay focused on your dream. They always believed in me.”
 

PARIS: World Cup holders Spain survived a major scare before beating Colombia on penalties to reach the semifinals of the Olympic women’s football on Saturday, after the United States edged out Japan.
Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati converted the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Spain beat Colombia 4-2 on penalties after their quarter-final tie in Lyon had finished 2-2 at the end of extra time.
Spain now advance to a semifinal on Tuesday in Marseille against either hosts France or Brazil, who meet later.
Spain are going for gold in their first appearance in the Olympic women’s football, but they were moments away from being eliminated after falling 2-0 behind to the South Americans.
Mayra Ramirez fired Colombia ahead early on and Leicy Santos doubled their lead early in the second half after a Linda Caicedo shot was saved.
Jennifer Hermoso pulled a goal back in the 79th minute for the world champions, who were then rescued when captain Irene Paredes turned in a Salma Paralluelo cross in the seventh minute of injury time.
That meant extra time, and no further goals led to penalties. Captain Catalina Usme’s first kick for Colombia was saved, while Liana Salazar missed her attempt as Spain scored all four of their efforts from the spot to go through.
Earlier, Trinity Rodman scored a stunning goal in extra time as the United States edged Japan 1-0.
The daughter of former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman struck in stoppage time at the end of the first half of extra time to finally break the deadlock, and Japan’s resistance, at a packed Parc des Princes in Paris.
That took the USA through to a semifinal on Tuesday in Lyon, where they will face either reigning Olympic champions Canada or 2016 gold medallists Germany.
The USA remain on track under new English coach Emma Hayes to win a record-extending fifth women’s football gold, and a first since defeating Japan in the London Olympic final in 2012.
That silver remains Japan’s only medal in the competition and they go home after thwarting the USA for most of a tense quarter-final, where they failed to take what few chances came their way on the break.
“I honestly think that was the only way we were going to find a goal in that game,” Rodman said of her moment of magic after she was set up by Crystal Dunn.
“Obviously we had tried all game long to get in between them and it wasn’t working, but she played it in behind.
“It just bobbled a little, and then I banged it in the upper 90. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I am very happy about it.”
The presence of Snoop Dogg — who is working at the Olympics for US television — in the crowd in Paris provided more excitement for many spectators than the game itself.
Japan sat back and allowed the USA to have most of the possession, which they did without showing a cutting edge.
Their front three of Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith were impressive during the group stage but found the going tougher against Japan’s back five.
That was until Rodman struck midway through extra time, as she controlled a long diagonal ball by Dunn on the right, turned Hikaru Kitagawa inside out and fired a shot high into the far corner of the net.
It was her third goal in four games at the tournament, making her the USA’s joint top scorer alongside Swanson.