Olympics-Table Tennis-China's Chen wins gold in women's singles

World number one Chen overcame her opponent 9-11 11-6 11-4 5-11 11-4 11-9 as China continued its incredible run of winning every women's singles gold medal in Olympic history. Chen fired herself up with a mighty yell each time she scored, while the 20-year-old Sun in contrast silently gave a reserved fist pump as she tried to get back into the contest.

China's Chen Meng defeated her compatriot Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win women's singles Olympic table tennis gold on Thursday. World number one Chen overcame her opponent 9-11 11-6 11-4 5-11 11-4 11-9 as China continued its incredible run of winning every women's singles gold medal in Olympic history.

Chen fired herself up with a mighty yell each time she scored, while the 20-year-old Sun in contrast silently gave a reserved fist pump as she tried to get back into the contest. Japan's Mima Ito won the bronze medal after beating Singapore's Yu Mengyu 4-1, earning Japan's first medal ever in Olympic women's singles, after she secured gold in the mixed doubles.

In the men's singles, China's Fan Zhendong won 4-3 against Taiwan's Lin Yun Ju, while defending champion Ma Long beat Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov by the same score to reach Friday's final. The results mean that China provided all four finalists in the showpiece matches at the Tokyo Games in the women's and men's singles events as they have at every Games since 2008.

China have long been the dominant force in the sport, especially in the women's singles where the Asian powerhouse has never been beaten to the Olympic title. Earlier on Thursday, world number three Sun had overwhelmed Ito in the semi-finals with an 11-3 11-9 11-6 11-4 victory, while Chen had beaten Yu 11-6 11-8 11-7 11-6.

"I've always looked forward to fighting against Ito, who's the same age as me," Sun told reporters. "Whether I win or lose, there's a lot of joy every time I face her. I really enjoy the competition because we can bring out each other's best and fighting spirit. I love playing against her. "