ATHENS, Sept. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Zhang Xiaoling from China became the odds to win five individual golds in a single event in five consecutive Paralympic Games when she won the women's singles Classes 6-8 here on Tuesday.

    Zhang, 47, has never lost a gold in the eight events (four individual events and four team ones) she had ever competed in from her debut at the Seoul Paralympics in 1988.

    She came to Athens seeking to go on with her "gold rush", which could make her a legend in China's Paralympic history.

    The gold medal match was put up between Zhang and Marleen Bengtsson Kovacs from Sweden, 30 years her junior.

    The promising young Swede boosted into an exciting start when she claimed the first set with an overwhelming advantage of 11-4.

    However, the Chinese veteran with extremely strong nerves just as her idol and able-bodied compatriot Deng Yaping, recovered to her form from the second set. She controlled the next three sets with a cool mind and finally sealed the 3-1 victory.

    "I am very exciting," said Zhang. "I screamed and jumped after winning a point to encourage myself.

    "She (Bengtsson Kovacs) is very young. And she posed a big great challenge to me," she added.

    The gold was the 100th for China in its Paralympic history and ninth for Zhang.

    "Well, I didn't know that (the 100th gold) earlier. Anyway, it is a great honor."

    China's able-bodied player Zhang Yining won the 100th Olympic Games gold medal for her country at the Athens Games since China's first large-scale participation in Los Angeles in 1984.

    Guo Xijing, Zhang's coach, couldn't stop her tears. "It is too hard, too hard..."

    "She is already 47 and a little bit fat," said Zhang. "To conquer all this, she had to pay twice, even third times as hard than others.

    "However, she will certainly keep on, I believe in her," he added. Enditem