SHENZHEN’S Wang Xinyu and her partner Zheng Zhizhen secured the silver medal in the tennis mixed doubles event in Paris on Saturday (Beijing time).

As the Chinese tennis team’s first Olympic medal in 16 years, Wang and Zheng’s accomplishment is a milestone. Previously, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi won a bronze medal for China in the women’s doubles competition during the Beijng Olympics in 2008.

Although Wang and Zheng lost in the challenging final 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 to Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic, the silver medal was a delightful surprise for the two players, who teamed up for the mixed doubles event just one hour before Zheng’s next match.

According to CCTV news, Zheng Zhizhen had initially partnered with Zheng Qinwen, another Chinese female player, for the mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics. However, Zheng Qinwen had to withdraw from the mixed doubles event to focus on her women’s singles competition, which had been rescheduled due to adverse weather conditions.

Wang recounted receiving a sudden call from Zheng Zhizhen when she was getting ready for muscle therapy. Immediately after hanging up, Wang grabbed her racket, put on her competition shoes, and embraced the unexpected partnership.

Wang, who won the women’s doubles championship at the French Open last year, had never partnered with Zheng before.

In another development, Zheng Qinwen, Zheng Zhizhen’s former partner for the mixed doubles, made history by wining gold in the women’s singles final yesterday morning.

(Claudia Wei)