Glowing from her newly won Beijing bronze yesterday, Chinese doubles ace Zheng Jie said it was the "Sichuan spirit" in the wake of the May 12 quake that fueled her to her podium finish in what she called the most important tournament of her life.
"People always ask me what kind of message I want to deliver to the people who suffered from the quake," said Zheng, who teamed with Yan Zi to beat Ukraine's Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2.
"The Sichuan people sent us more messages because during the disaster, they were so brave, they were positive, they never gave up. I am proud to be someone from Sichuan.
"During the Olympic Games, we fought really hard and we want to show this Sichuan spirit, that we are brave."
Chinese sports authorities have implored all their athletes to play with the same Sichuan spirit, said China's deputy Chef de Mission Cui Dalin, who believes the never-say-die attitude of the residents of the quake-hit area can boost his athletes' winning desire.
Zheng turns out to be a perfect example.
She needed nearly three hours to overcome an early deficit to oust world No 15 Agnes Szavay 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round, and then rallied to beat Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-4 just 15 hours later.
Her epic doubles victory over Svetlana Kuznetzova and Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals, which ended at 3:50 am on Saturday, was also a performance of heroic proportions.
Zheng said the Sichuan spirit will encourage her for the rest of her career.
"My home people will be with me forever," she said.
"The spirit will be my motivation throughout my career, I will never forget about it.
（英语点津 Helen 编辑）
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.