The second set turned out to be a similar battle to the first, but it came down to experience. The first four games ended with service game holds (2-2), but C. Alcaraz minimized the deficit through his volley before he held his serves to 3-2. A forehand pass allowed the Spanish second seed to be a point ahead somewhere in the game, but Novak still held his service game to 3-3.
Interestingly, in the next game, the first seed's final volley went out for an equalizer before C. Alcaraz held his serves to 4-3. It took two more games before he produced a successful volley in response to Novak's lob, but the latter's preceding forehand minimized the gap even further before Novak's forehand winner forced the deuce even if C. Alcaraz held his serves to 5-4.
Several games later, the tie-breaker became inevitable, and it was all to play for as it could affect the flow either way. Novak's forehand winner secured the early mini-break to 1-0 before he held to 2-0, and he had not looked back since despite being mini-broken back, scoring a cross-court forehand winner to 3-2 before holding his serves to 4-2 thanks to his forehand down-the-line winner. By then, Novak went after C. Alcaraz's forehands, whose errors from such wing contributed to Novak's match point creation. Ultimately, Novak took the second set 7-6(2) thanks to his forehand winner, finally securing his gold medal after a long wait.
Zhiying Zeng’s eyes begin to sparkle and her gestures become more animated as she recounts the day her lifelong Olympic dream came true.
She had to wait longer than most athletes, too: At 58 years old, Zeng will be one of the oldest Olympians at Paris 2024.
But for Zeng, whose Olympic journey began in China in the 1970s and culminated in qualification for Chile’s table tennis team earlier this year, it was worth the wait.
She had even retired from professional table tennis aged 20 – something which allowed her the opportunity to uproot her life in Asia and move across the Pacific Ocean to Chile – and at one stage went almost 20 years without playing.
“It was the biggest dream of my life,” she tells CNN Sport with a thick, unmistakable Chilean lilt.
“Even when I was a little girl and they would ask me what my dream was, I would say: ‘Become an Olympian.’”
Chile has now been Zeng’s home for 35 years and she is as Chilean as they come.
She is known in her adopted country as ‘Tania’ – because Chileans struggle pronouncing the Z in her name – and her favorite dish is pantruca, a kind of dumpling soup.
She also eats beans, a staple of the Chilean diet, every week.
Zeng loves empanadas, too, but doesn’t indulge too much now that she’s an elite athlete again. “Too many calories,” she laughs.
From China to Chile
Zeng was born in Guangzhou in 1966 and picked up a paddle almost as soon as she was physically able.
Her mother was a table tennis coach, which meant the then-government housed the family next to a sports complex, allowing Zeng to train every day and surround herself with professional players.
She was trained by her mother until the age of nine when, Zeng says, she became a typical grumpy child that didn’t want to be coached by a parent.
So her mother enrolled her in a school that employed a table tennis coach and after nearly two years, aged 11, she entered an elite sports academy.
Even in China, by far the world’s most dominant table tennis nation, Zeng’s talents were evident from an early age.
She became a national junior champion and won several regional tournaments before turning professional at the age of 12.
When she was 16, she was called up to the Chinese table tennis team for the first time.
“So many players in China have that dream because it’s so hard to achieve,” she says.
However, in 1986, two years before table tennis made its Olympic debut at the Games in Seoul, the “two color rule” was introduced, meaning the two sides of the paddle now had to be different colors instead of both black.
Zeng explains that the two faces of the paddle produce different types of effects on the ball and she would regularly rotate it in her hand to confuse opponents.
The different colored faces meant opponents could better predict her shots.
“The change of rules affected my game a lot,” she recalls. “That’s when I had a big downturn and left the national team.”
It was a painful moment for Zeng, who says she idolized players who were not much older than her that had already become Asian or world champions, and she was desperate to follow in their footsteps.
But the rule change paved the way for the next chapter in Zeng’s remarkable story.
In 1989, she received an invitation to coach schoolchildren in Arica, a city in northernmost Chile.
It was a job she adored, but it wasn’t until 2003 that she picked up the paddle to play competitive table tennis again.
She wanted to introduce her son, who was 13 at the time, to the sport in order to drag him away from playing too many video games and watching too much television.
In 2004 and 2005, Zeng comfortably won two national tournaments but once again stopped playing when her son was old enough to go to training on his own and travel with the team’s coach.
Third time’s a charm
Zeng only picked up a paddle again when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
“More than anything, just to exercise because we weren’t doing anything locked down in the house except eating!” she laughs.
“I got the bug and, once we were able to leave, I immediately wanted to play against someone to see what level I was at – and see if I could I still run or not.”
She contacted the federation in Iquique, where she lives today and owns a furniture business, and was soon playing – and winning – regional tournaments against mostly men given there were few female players.
“That gave me a lot of confidence,” she says.
“I had no problems with running, with fatigue or anything. I wanted to know how much more I could do.”
In 2022, the Chilean Table Tennis Federation sent an announcement to the regional associations that it was hosting a tournament to put together a team for the 2023 South American Table Tennis Championships.
Despite her success, Zeng was skeptical about going.
All of the best players in the country would be there and she doubted that she would be able to keep up.
In the end, she only went because a friend managed to convince her.
“‘Go and find out if you can compete or not. If not, at least you’ll be left with no doubts,’” she recalls her friend telling her. “I thought she had a point.”
Zeng qualified for the team, of course, and led Chile to first place in the team tournament, while also coming second in the singles and women’s doubles.
“I forgot what I was afraid of and what I was worried about,” she says.
But it wasn’t until the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago that her life really changed.
After her first appearance at the tournament, Zeng became a national icon overnight.
After losing the first two sets in her opening match, Zeng rattled off four straight to win 4-2 in front of her new adoring fans.
Chileans gave her the nickname ‘Tia Tania’ – Auntie Tania – and the AP reported that one young fan said he had gone just to watch the “table tennis grandma.”
Even Chilean President Gabriel Boric became a fan and congratulated her on a “tremendous” victory.
Zeng, who will play Lebanon’s Mariana Sahakian in the preliminary rounds of Paris 2024 on Saturday, says being in Santiago as an athlete during the Pan Am Games was a surreal experience.
She spent much of her time with other athletes, going out to dinner and taking photos.
“I lived like that when I was 15,” she says, recalling her time as a professional in China.
“It had been a long time since I experienced something like this. I was like an excited teenager again. I forgot I was 56!”
It proved to be a successful tournament on the table, too, as Zeng won team bronze for Chile alongside Daniela Ortega and Paulina Vega.
Zeng’s sons also noticed that her Instagram following had grown by almost 10,000 in a matter of days and had to teach her how to use social media, so she could keep her hordes of new fans updated.
Finally, 38 years after she gave up on her Olympic dream, Zeng qualified for Paris 2024 at a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Lima, Peru, in May this year.
Zeng says she didn’t sleep at all the night before the deciding game as she played out every imaginable scenario in her head.
On match point, when she went to collect the ball, her mind again began to run wild.
“Calm, calm,” Zeng, who says mental fortitude is her biggest asset in table tennis, repeated to herself. “You’ve got one more point.”
After winning match point, the emotion of everything she had experienced in the sport came flooding out.
Her father, who is 92 and regularly visits her in Chile, and her brother stayed up until 5 a.m. in China to watch the match, while her husband and friends were in Lima to celebrate the moment with her.
“My dad was able to see his daughter qualify for the Olympics,” she says, visibly emotional.
“He used to take me to training and to matches when I was a girl and now at 57, I made it. I made it.”
I’ve been thinking of making a zine about sports or tennis—not that i necessarily have a lot to write about—i want to make a booklet that’s similar to a photography book, but with drawings.
Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming is spreading the joy after his cousin, Chinese table tennis athlete Chen Meng, took home a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Huang, 46, celebrated on Weibo after Chen, 30, defeated her Chinese teammate Sun Yingsha in the women’s table tennis singles final on Aug 3 with a final score of 4-2.
Athletic Games Flyer Template is very modern psd flyer that will be the perfect invitation for your Sportsbar Event or party! All elements are in individual layers and the text is fully editable!
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After five consecutive service game holds, S. Errani/J. Paolini then controlled the match tie-break as they mini-broke due to Diana's forehand error in response to their preceding cross-court forehand (4-2), following it up with an unreturned serve to consolidate their lead to 5-3, as well as S. Errani's volley to hold to 6-3. Their point construction domination then continued through a working smash to 7-3.
Several points later, S. Errani/J. Paolini scored a complete package point, where they started with S. Errani's underarm serve before both pairs engaged in a net exchange full of never-ending volleys, ending with the former's smash to hold to 8-5. However, Mirra/Diana tried to minimize the gap with an unreturned serve to 8-7, and the serving came good for the Italian pair in the next 2 points, winning the match tie-break 10-7 to finally secure a tennis gold medal for Italy to close the sector.
some tog watching the olympics hcs for the soul because i love the olympics and i decided they do too:
andy competed in the ORIGINAL greek olympics. yes she did
with the guard being as competitive as they are, the olympics are a BIG deal in the safe house - it’s like the football world cup but all day every day for three weeks straight
it’s obviously too dangerous for the guard to attend the olympics these days with all of the cameras and media, so they hunker down in a safehouse and watch as much as they can on TV
they used to go most years though, nicky even told nile that he considered competing in olympic shooting back in the mid 1900s but it was too high profile to risk it
quynh was in the ocean when they brought back the olympic games as we know them today. her first olympics year back with the guard she asks andy why everyone is clothed and where the victors wreaths are
nile LOVES the olympics so she fits right into the dynamic when the first olympics of her time with the guard roll around
she was a little nervous about coming on too strong that first year, but when she saw how hard they roast each other and how much they goaded her into being just as competitive and aggressive as they were, she settled in easily
they would later regret unlocking that part of her once they realize how painful watching the olympics with an american is
nile keeps a scoreboard on the wall next to the TV where she updates the medal counts daily and reminds everyone who’s winning (the usa)
joe, quynh, and booker prefer the summer olympics while nile and andy prefer the winter olympics. nicky is just happy to make some money off of booker when france loses, no matter the season
“andy im getting us a peacock account to watch the olympics, they’re starting next week” “peacock account? what the hell is peacock? like the bird??”
there’s ALWAYS a bet going on. for the full duration of the olympic games there is never not a bet going on
nile will be doing joe’s dishes for a month after kaylia nemour beat suni lee in the uneven bars final
booker owes nicky €300 after italy advanced out of the first round of the women’s doubles tennis tournament (france did not) and another €1000 for italy winning the gold medal
andy stays out of the betting for the most part, or just picks the best athlete rather than one representing her home nation
“andy, that’s cheating—” “the scythians were nomadic. i don’t even remember where i was born so i’ll pick whichever athlete i damn well please, and you—” “okay, fine! we get it!”
andy found quynh wandering in a desert, quynh doesn’t really remember where she’s from either so she picks her favorite athletes based on vibe and which countries were her favorites to travel around with andy
there aren’t nearly as many north african athletes as there are italian, french, and american so joe starts adopting the athletes with the most heartwarming comeback/underdog stories as his faves
i feel like nile LOVES usa gymnastics having been a teen watching gabby douglas and simone biles!
that girl was SAT for every gymnastics event cheering on team usa like it was her job
andy has broken her neck attempting to pull off the stunts she sees in olympic snowboarding, gymnastics, skateboarding, figure skating, etc…. but sometimes she nails them. and it’s sick as fuck
nile is from the midwest i know she’s an ice hockey enjoyer. she pregames the winter olympics by making the guard watch miracle (2004) (nicky cries)
booker makes a drinking game for watching the games. he prints out the rules and pins them up next to nile’s medal count. take a sip when an announcer starts yelling, a shot when a random celebrity is shown on the broadcast, and finish your drink when a medalist cries
whenever great britan places below one of the guard’s countries, copley receives a very vulgar and unsportsmanlike text from them
no, quynh does not watch swimming events. thank you for asking
the couch is NOT a safe space. anything goes during the olympics. anyone who gets too mean (or whose athlete loses) can and will be pushed off the couch and exiled to the armchair
i will surely update this as the olympics continue and my friends and i get up to more hijinks. stay tuned and enjoy the greatest sporting event ever conceived
Merlin Olympics is back just in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris!
Due to the short delay before the opening of the Olympic Games, this will be a low-key version focused on sharing our love for Merlin and the Summer Olympics!
🌞WHEN?🌞
From the 26th of July (start of the first competitions) to the 16th of August!!
3 weeks to create, share, react, cheer and have fun!
🌞WHERE?🌞
On merlinolympics on LJ, here at merlinbbcolympics on Tumblr, and on our dedicated channel on The Tavern's Discord.
🌞WHO?🌞
Anyone can take part : writers, artists, podficcers, lurkers...
🔞 Be aware that this is a +18 fest and that the Tavern's Discord is a +18 place!
🌞HOW?🌞
There are multiple ways to take part in this fest! You are free to participate in one way or in multiple ones!
There is no need to sign-up.
🥉COMMENTING🥉
Leave comments on old works from previous fests or on this year's works.
AO3 Collection
🥈PROMPTING🥈
Leaves prompt for artists and writers to use on this post on livejournal or in our ask box!
🥇CREATING (fic, art, vid, icons, podfic...)🥇
Create anything you want!
There are no words limitations or anything!
You can pick a prompt (no need to claim it officially) or you can use your own ideas! If you pick a prompt, just let the prompter know! (one prompt can be used more than once).
If you need inspiration, go check our prompting post or the asks we post here!
🥇POSTING🥇
You can tag us here on Tumblr and use the tag #merlinolympics24
You can also add your work to our AO3 Collection and post your work to our Livejournal Community using the header.
You can post whenever you want during the fest duration.
🥇CHEERING🥇
Encourage all the participants on the Discord channel!
🌞RULES🌞
All content created for this fest must be linked to the Summer Olympics.
- Any Olympics (past, present, imaginary)
- Any pairing (M/M, F/F, M/F, Gen, multiple,..)
- Any rating
- Please tag your works appropriately for any kinks, triggers, warnings needed.
- All content must be original. Any use of AI-generated images or words is prohibited for this event.