'Sichuan spirit' fuels Zheng Jie

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."