According to People’s Daily Online, in the early hours of August 3rd, in the mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympic Games, the Chinese pair Zhang Zhiwen/Wang Xinyu narrowly lost to their Czech opponents, securing a silver medal. This was the first time China had participated in the Olympic tennis mixed doubles competition, and Zhang Zhiwen and Wang Xinyu made history just four days after forming their team!
The report noted that more remarkable than achieving the best result in history was the fact that the mixed doubles pairing of Zhang Zhiwen and Wang Xinyu was completely “thrown together at the last minute,” with the entire process being full of twists and turns.
It is well known that the original partner for Zhang Zhiwen in the mixed doubles at these Olympics was Zheng Qinwen. However, due to rain affecting the tennis schedule and compressing it, many players were faced with having to play two matches in one day. In order to focus better on her singles matches, Zheng Qinwen had no choice but to withdraw from the mixed doubles.
Zhang Zhiwen understood this decision very well, but he did not give up on his chance to continue competing. He learned that the Olympic rules allowed for a last-minute change of partner in the mixed doubles. So, Zhang Zhiwen started looking for a new partner on the spot, “I need someone, find me a partner quickly!” His first choice was Wang Xinyu. Wang Xinyu mentioned that she was initially surprised, “At the time, I was actually just about to start treatment and had just applied massage gel when I received the call asking where I was and if I had a racket. I happened to have a racket and had brought clothes, so I came.”
In the end, media commentary stated that a passive decision unexpectedly became a remarkable story. Congratulations to Zhang Zhiwen and Wang Xinyu!
