Australia’s 37-year gold medal drought in Paralympic table tennis has come to a glorious end after Lina Lei and Qian Yang won their respective women’s singles finals in Tokyo

Lei, who represented China up until a few years ago, became a six-time Paralympic gold medallist after coming from behind to beat world No.1 Guiyan Xiong in the women’s singles Class 9.

Lei won three games to two, prevailing 6-11 11-5 11-5 9-11 11-5 to become the first Australian to snare a Paralympics gold medal in table tennis since Terry Briggs in 1984.

An hour later, Yang added another gold medal to Australia’s tally with a three-games-to-one victory over Brazilian Bruna Costa Alexandre in the women’s Class 10 category.

Qian Yang dug deep and is taking home Australia's second gold medal for Table Tennis this evening 😍🤩#Tokyo2020 | #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/LiSZAo6wSl

— 7Sport (@7Sport) August 30, 2021

It boosted Australia’s gold medal tally in Tokyo to 10.

Yang was just four points away from victory at 7-2 up in the fourth before suffering a major case of nerves.

Costa Alexandre reeled off the next five points to level the scores, but Yang held her nerve when it mattered most to secure the win.

It was her first Paralympics singles gold medal after winning silver at both Rio and London while competing for China.

“I was a bit nervous in the beginning, but after she (Lei) won it made me feel more confident,” Yang said of the impact of Lei’s win.

“I’m really happy (to win) because it’s my first time to represent Australia.”

Six-time winner

Australian Lina Lei is now a six-time Paralympic gold medallist after coming from behind to beat China’s Guiyan Xiong in the women’s singles class 9 table tennis.

Lei won three games to two, prevailing 6-11 11-5 11-5 9-11 11-5 on Monday night.

The 33-year-old had previously won five Paralympic gold medals – including two singles – while competing for China.

Her latest gold medal was her first for Australia, and marked the country’s first Paralympics table tennis gold in 37 years.

#AUS v #CHN | WS9 | #LiNaLei | It's GOLD for Australia! Li Na Lei is the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games gold medalist in the Women's Singles class 9. It's Australia's first gold in para-table tennis in 37 years!@AUSParalympics #ReadySetTokyo pic.twitter.com/2G5CZ13Pec

— Table Tennis Aus (@TableTennisAus) August 30, 2021

Lei blew a 7-5 lead in the fourth game, but she bounced back to shoot out to a 5-0 lead in the fifth.

From there she was never headed, sealing the win on her third match point.

Li Na Lei is on 🔥🇦🇺 #Tokyo2020 | https://t.co/5ERUliB6CT pic.twitter.com/sYfoonvchQ

— 7Sport (@7Sport) August 30, 2021

“I’m very happy. But more than that I just wanted to enjoy this competition,” she said.

“I didn’t think too much about what the outcome would be be. I wasn’t expecting it. I told myself to take it one point at a time.

“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. Our levels are close. The main difference is our mentality and making tactical adjustments.”

-AAP