"Revenge," wrote Francis Bacon, "is a kind of wild justice." Whether or not any vengeful thoughts were consciously in play, there were plenty of other offerings at the motivational buffet today in Tokyo for Poland's Natalia Partyka, (pictured, left). There, she and countrywoman Karolina Pek (right) vied for national glory in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic teams events. Last Saturday, women's Class 10 world #1 Partyka was denied a shot at her fifth straight gold medal in singles, stunned by Australia's Yang Qian in the semifinals. While Yang went on to win the singles gold, Partyka regrouped for the teams event. As fortune would dictate, the two were destined to clash again as Poland and Australia both reached the Women's Team Classes 9-10 final. In today's opening doubles match, Partyka and Pek eked out a narrow 3-2 win over Yang and women's Class 9 gold medalist Lei Li Na. With Poland up a point in the best-of-three contest, the outcome would hinge on a rematch of Saturday's singles semi, which saw Yang edge Partyka, 11-9 in the fifth. This time, there would be no such drama, as a motivated Partyka claimed the gold for Poland with a dominant (11-5, 11-9,11-5) win. "I’m very happy to win gold, every game was close," said Partyka. "After losing in the singles, I was a bit stressed but then after a day off I was focused on the team event. I was prepared, stay close to the table, play with spin and power. We defended our title, so I think that shows we are a good team." While Karolina Pek and Natalia Partyka used good old fashioned teamwork to preserve Polish pride, the latter likely stirred hers with a generous splash of wild justice.

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