Australia claims fifth medal in para-table tennis breaking 37-year-old record

📷 | Paralympics Australia

The trio of Li Na Lei, Qian Yang and Melissa Tapper claimed a fifth record-breaking para-table tennis medal for Australia at the Tokyo Games in the Women's Team class 9-10. The Aussies won silver after conceding defeat to defending Paralympic team champions Natalia Partyka and Karolina Pek of Poland in two matches.
 
It's the fifth medal overall for the Australian para-table tennis team, who had already claimed two golds and two silvers from the Singles competition with Lei and Yang topping their respective classes. Australia had previously claimed four medals (one gold, three bronzes) at the Tokyo 1964 Paralympic Games.
 
The Women's team class 9-10 final was a partial rematch of the Rio 2016 gold medal playoff, when newly minted Australians Li Na Lei and Yang Qian finished second representing their native country China.
 
The opening doubles was nothing short of a spellbinder, with the two pairs exchanging breathtaking blows right down to the wire. In the end, it was the Polish duo who edged Australia's Yang and Lei for the win, taking the match 11-9 in the fifth.
 
In the second match Qian Yang squared off against Partyka for the second time in Tokyo after beating her in five games in the Class 10 Singles semifinal last Saturday. Partyka emerged as the winner this time, as the 4-time Paralympic champion (2004-2016) never allowed Yang to find her rhythm and took the win in straight sets with a confident performance.

Melissa Tapper was due to play the last match and didn’t get a chance to take to the court, but she was incredibly proud of her teammates’ effort.

“That was sensational. The girls played unbelievable. They were definitely in there with a chance to take it down to the last match. So I’m super proud of them,” she said.

“Obviously we were fighting for gold and if it got to the last match I was going to be ready to go. Poland is an incredible team. Natalya’s sensational along with Karolina Pek. It was a fantastic fight and they really took it to them. The doubles was an awesome match to watch. They fought for every ball and that’s what’s most important.”

Despite the final disappointment it’s been an amazing Games for the Australian women's para-table tennis team. Lei and Yang have added more medals to their tally and now hold 16 between them (Li Na Lei 6 gold, 4 silver / Qian Yang 2 gold, 4 silver), while today's silver was Tapper's first medal at the Paralympic Games.

“First Paralympic medal, so I’m over the moon,” Tapper said. 

“To get to be a part of that is something very special and I’m really excited that the girls were able to finish today with a silver.

“They [Lei, Yang and Lin Ma] are fantastic. They’re incredible players and they’re amazing for our Paralympic team, practicing, training, they fight hard. They’re amazing for our culture and environment, so it’s an honour to get to play alongside them.

“They’re incredible training partners and they’ve helped lift the standard inside Australia. We’re very lucky to have them – all three – and we’re quite excited about where the future of table tennis in Australia can go,” Tapper said.

As for the immediate future, Australia has another shot at gold in the team event tonight, with Lin Ma, Joel Coughlan and Nathan Pellissier taking on China at 7.30pm AEST in the Men’s Class 9-10.

 
Women's Team class 9-10 gold medal final
Poland b. Australia 2-0

• N. Partyka / K. Pek (POL) b. L.N. Lei / Q. Yang (AUS) 3-2 [11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9]
• N. Partyka (POL) b. Q. Yang (AUS) 3-0 [11-5, 11-9, 11-5]