From Emma Navarro "not respecting her" to making history with gold medal: Zheng Qinwen's incredible journey at Paris Olympics

Sixth seed Zheng Qinwen of China won the gold medal in the women's singles at the Paris Olympics 2024 by beating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2 6-3 in the final. This is the first time China has secured a gold medal in tennis and a watershed moment in the nation's rich history at the Olympics.

Zheng dropped a solitary set in the tournament and beat top seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinal. However, the 21-year-old Chinese's triumph came with a dollop of controversy. Emma Navarro's words about Zheng at the Olympics drew even more attention than the latter's win over Swiatek, the dominant clay queen.

Emma Navarro had harsh words to say about Zheng Qinwen

Navarro, Zheng's opponent in the third round at the Olympics, had harsh words to say about her Chinese opponent. Navarro said,

"I just told her I didn’t respect her as a competitor. I think she goes about things in a pretty cut-throat way. It makes for a locker room that doesn’t have a lot of camaraderie, so it’s tough to face an opponent like that, who I really don’t respect. But, kudos to her, she played some good tennis there at the end. She played better than me, so congrats to her."

Navarro did not clarify what she exactly meant by "cut-throat", but almost implied as if Zheng had committed a mistake by beating her. However, Zheng did not retaliate and let her performance on the court do the talking for her. Her verbal response was also classy, as she said about Navarro,

"It looks like she's not happy with my behavior towards her. If she's not happy about my behavior, she can come and tell me. I would like to correct it to become a better player and a better person."

Zheng's powerful game has caught the eye

Zheng has one of the most powerful serves in the women's game at the moment and does not hesitate to come to the net frequently to finish points with volleys. The Chinese player is thus one of the most aggressive players on the WTA Tour today.

However, more importantly, she has perhaps been able to prove a point on behalf of Asian athletes by winning the gold medal in a sport usually dominated by Western countries. She has also thus responded to any superiority complex that the European or American tennis players might be having, as was perhaps evident from the way Navarro talked about Zheng.

The Chinese woman's triumph, thus, was memorable for more than one reason. Aside from making her country proud, she has also managed to give a fitting reply to any discrimination that the athletes of a particular country or region in the world might have in their minds.