"First thing my father told me, 'We want the medal in China'" - Zheng Qinwen reveals Paris Olympics gold medal is already with her parents back home
Zheng Qinwen recently revealed that her Paris Olympics gold medal is already with her parents back in China. When she called her father after winning the historic medal, he asked her to send the medal to her home country.
Qinwen got the better of some of the top WTA players including Emma Navarro, Angelique Kerber, and Iga Swiatek before facing Donna Vekic in the gold medal match. The Chinese player put up a strong display to win the final in straight sets and take the medal home.
She became the first Chinese player to win the gold medal in tennis in the singles event. In a recent press conference before her 2024 Cincinnati Open campaign began, she opened up about how the Paris Olympics was on her calendar since 2022.
Her first target was winning a medal, however, she eyed gold only after breaking Swiatek's 25-match winning streak on Roland-Garros in the semifinal.
Zheng was asked where her gold medal was and she replied that it was already in China as per her father's demands.
“It’s already in China. The first thing when I called my father, he told me, ‘Give your medal to your manager. We want the medal back in China,’” Zheng said.
The 21-year-old also revealed that the only thing missing from her celebrations in Paris was the presence of her parents. They shared a warm embrace upon watching their daughter win gold but they could not make the trip to France from Wuhan.
Zheng Qinwen opens up on 'intense schedule' as Cincinnati Open 2024 commences days after Paris Olympics campaign
In the pre-tournament press conference at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, Zheng Qinwen was asked if she would be referred to as ‘Gold Medalist Zheng Qinwen’.
“Just call me Qinwen,” she laughed and responded.
“‘Gold Medalist’ can’t stay forever,” she added.
Further, she revealed that the life of a tennis player involves intense schedules. She has to move on to the next tournament no matter the result of the previous one.
“I feel very happy, but the schedule has been very intense for me... I didn’t have many days to rest and I came here jetlagged and everything but, of course, that’s tennis life. The first three days when I woke up, I felt, ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ But now, I think I’ve come back to reality,” Zheng said.
As the seventh seed at the WTA 1000 event, the Chinese player received a first-round bye. She faced Magdalena Frech in the second round on Thursday, August 15, and led 6-1, 5-4 before the match was suspended.