Tennis ace Peng wins third gold at 11th Chinese National Games

Peng Shuai (R) and Xu Yifan from Tianjin jubilate after the women's doubles final of tennis against Yan Zi and Zheng Jie from Sichuan at the 11th Chinese National Games in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 26, 2009. Peng and Xu won the match 2-0 and claimed the title of the event. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou)

China's tennis ace Peng Shuai won her third gold at the 11th Chinese National Games by partnering Xu Yifan to claim the women's doubles title on Monday.

The team from Tianjin were hardly tested by Sichuan's Zheng Jie/Yan Zi to secure the gold at 6-4, 6-1.

The title came as the icing on the cake as Peng has inspired the team of Tianjin for the women's team title and secured the mixed doubles gold on Sunday.


Peng Shuai (R) and Xu Yifan from Tianjin smile after the women's doubles final of tennis against Yan Zi and Zheng Jie from Sichuan at the 11th Chinese National Games in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 26, 2009. Peng and Xu won the match 2-0 and claimed the title of the event. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou)

The 23-year-old is expected to win a record four golds at the prestigious meet by reaching the final at the singles event, where Peng will take on Zhejiang's Han Xinyun.

"I haven't thought too much about the singles event," said Peng, "I'm very happy at the moment, and meanwhile very tired. I just want to take a good rest and fight tomorrow.

"Either lose or win, I will be happy, since I have already harvested three gold medals."

Zheng, a double defending champion in singles and doubles, said she fought very hard in every single match.

"People have high hopes on me, and the coming players set me as a target, so it's never easy to win the national title. I have worked very hard to handle the pressure and it feels happy to come so far," Zheng said.

"We have never played against them and don't know their tactics," added Yan. "But they did perform well, especially Peng. She was in a very good form and made no mistakes during the match."

"It's a pity that we lost the game, but we tried our best," Yan added.

Source: Xinhua