Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Zhang Yining won the gold to lead a Chinese sweep of the medals in the women's table tennis singles on Friday at the Beijing Olympics.

The No. 1 seeded Zhang defeated teammate Wang Nan in a final match that went five sets, rolling to an 8-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 victory to successfully defend the gold medal she won at the 2004 Athens Games.

"I won gold in 2004 because I had courage," said Zhang. "But this year I started in a higher position, so I had to pass the test of facing other challengers."

Zhang's repeat relegated Wang to the silver, while their Chinese teammate Guo Yue won bronze with a 4-2 victory over Singapore's Li Jia Wei.

08/22 10:57:26 ET