Xue Ling Zhang completes a medal clean-sweep for Singapore.
Singapore's Xue Ling Zhang has snared gold in an upset win over team-mate and top seed, Li Jia Wei, in an enthralling Women's Table Tennis Singles Final.
Li's all-powerful top spin dominated in the first game, resulting in an easy 11-6 victory. Zhang fought back in the second game, putting pressure on the challenger by retrieving impossible balls, which gave her a clean victory, 11-3.
Li failed to return Zhang's strong spin shots, allowing her team-mate to seize victory in the third game, 11-5.
Over-hitting by Zhang gave Li an early advantage in the fourth game, allowing the top seed to regain confidence and triumph 11-2.
The capacity crowd was entertained by spectacular rallies as the Singaporeans battled point-for-point in the fifth game, with Li asserting her play with heavy loops and crisp hitting to take a critical 11-7 win.
Both players showed magnificent form in the sixth, however a net chord helped Zhang to 8-4, and allowed the underdog to prevail against her experienced opponent to secure the game, 11-7.
The tense final game saw sharp play by Zhang, forcing Li to play anxious net shots. Further critical errors by Li saw Zhang take a surprise victory and win her fourth gold medal at the Games.
Earlier, Singapore's Yan Xu claimed the bronze medal, defeating Miao Miao of Australia in straight games, 4-0.
For all the competition results, visit the Table Tennis Schedule and Results section of this Website.
- Games News Service