Lei and Yang write para-table tennis history for Australia

📷 | Paralympics Australia

Li Na Lei and Qian Yang made Australian para-table tennis history tonight taking home two gold medals in the Women's Singles class 9 and class 10 respectively. 

The last Australian to win a gold in para-table tennis was Terry Biggs at the Stoke Mandeville & New York 1984 Paralympic Games. The 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games mark Australia’s most successful table tennis medal haul at a Paralympic Games, with two gold and two silver medals - the previous record was one gold and three bronze in Tokyo in 1964.

Lei kicked off a spectacular Australian double-header defeating world no.1 and former Chinese teammate Guiyan Xiong in five games. 

While the 45-year-old Xiong won the opener, Lei soon found her rhythm and stormed back in the following two games to turn the final around and land within sight of the finish. Xiong would not go down without a fight, forcing the Aussie to a decisive fifth set, but a commanding 5-0 opening run in the tiebreak put Lei out of reach.

This gold medal playoff was Lei's fifth consecutive Paralympic final in the Women's Singles class 9, an impressive streak from which she has won three golds and two silvers. Lei also has three golds and a silver from previous Team events, for a grand total of nine Paralympic medals.

“I made a slow start because she uses long pimples," Lei said after her match. "I haven’t played against long pimples in a while and it took some time to get used to this style of play.

"In the second and third games I did well. In the fourth, my mentality wasn’t great. In the fifth I told myself I have to be more decisive. We have played many times and our levels are close. The main difference is our mentality and making tactical adjustments.”

The new Paralympic champion said that having the entire Australian para-table tennis team behind her was a tremendous help as she was getting through the ups and downs of a tight 5-setter.

"It was great to have the team behind me, they're like family and the cheers were really useful for me. We have plenty of support, also from the coaches. All those things are very important and really help."

It was third time lucky for 25-year-old Yang who made the finals at the London and Rio Paralympics but came away with silver. Tonight’s gold medal was years in the making.

The Aussie started slow in the opening game and had to save two game points before coming back from 8-10 to 13-11 to take a crucial game. Bruna Costa Alexandre (BRA) put all her quality on display and was able to pull a game back, but there was no denying Yang a gold medal tonight. The Aussie took the match 3-1 for her fifth Paralympic medal - the first coveted gold in the Singles.

Yang said she felt too nervous at the beginning of the match and taking the first game was key to her success.

"I was pretty tight at the start. I was too anxious. She put me in an uncomfortable position. I was trailing a lot and I wasn’t anticipating it. I told myself, since I’m so far behind I need to open up and start expressing myself. As the match progressed, I didn’t rush things. I tried to take the initiative with topspin shots, then get into rallies. I needed to get on the front foot," she said.

“Going into today I was feeling nervous because the first two finals involving Australians we lost. I was like, 'Please don’t let us have four silvers from four finals'! When Li Na won today I breathed a sigh of relief.

"I am really happy because it's my first time representing Australia and I wanted to do my best for the team," Yang said.

The Australian para-table tennis team is experiencing unprecedented success in Tokyo with four medals so far, equalling the team's highest total ever at the Paralympic Games. Celebrations might have to be subdued as the Team events start tomorrow with Australia fielding three teams in the Men's class 6-7, Men's class 9-10 and Women's class 9-10, which includes the newly crowned Paralympic champions Lei and Yang. Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Lin Ma will be the first to take to the court alongside Joel Coughlan and Nathan Pellissier at 12.30pmAEST on Tuesday.

Women's Singles Class 9

Final result: Li Na Lei (AUS) b. Guiyan Xiong (CHN) 3-2 [6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5]

• GOLD: Li Na Lei (AUS)
• SILVER: Guiyan Xiong (CHN)
• BRONZE: Karolina Pek (POL) & Alexa Szvitacs (HUN)

Women's Singles Class 10

Final result: Qian Yang (AUS) b. Bruna Costa Alexandre (BRA) 3-1 [13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9]

• GOLD: Qian Yang (AUS)
• SILVER: Bruna Costa Alexandre (BRA)
• BRONZE: Natalia Partyka (POL) & Shiau Wen Tien (TPE)

What’s next:

Tuesday 31 Aug

• Men's Class 9-10 Round of 16: AUS (Pellissier/Ma/Coughlan) v BRA - 12.30pm AEST*
• Men's Class 6-7 Quarter-Finals: AUS (Hirth/Ballestrino) v GBR- 8.30pm AEST

*Quarter-finals are scheduled for 7pm AEST on Tuesday 31 August

Wednesday 1 Sep

• Women's Class 9-10 Quarter-finals: AUS (Lei/Tapper/Yang) v HUN 11am AEST