Retired Chinese sailboat racer Xu Lijia spoke highly of the performances of tennis players Zheng Qinwen, Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics while speaking to CGTN Sports Scene’s Greg Laffradi on Saturday.
Zheng, Zhang and Wang all made history in Paris. Zheng eliminated World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland to become the first Chinese player to reach a singles final at the Summer Olympics. She will compete against Croatia’s Donna Vekic for the women’s singles gold medal on Saturday.
Zhang and Wang also made China proud by making the country’s first trip to the podium in tennis in the French capital, after facing the Czech pair of Tomas Machac and Katerina Siniakova in the mixed doubles final on Friday.
Despite falling in three sets, Zhang and Wang scripted a new chapter for Chinese tennis players at the Olympics by finishing the competition with silver.
Xu, who turns 37 at the end of August, enjoyed a 20-years career as a sailboat racer. She earned a gold medal and a bronze medal, respectively, at the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 editions of the Olympics. She was also China’s flagbearer at the Closing Ceremony in London in 2012.
