England has beaten Australia 3-1 to claim bronze in the women's team table tennis at the Commonwealth Games.
Five-time Games player Miao Miao was brought to tears when penalised for time-wasting at a key moment in the tight and tense deciding singles rubber against 17-year-old Tin-Tin Ho, and failed to recover.
Fellow veteran Jian Fang Lay, 45, was the only Australian to win a match in the best-of-five tie but later lost in the doubles with Miao to England's Maria Tsaptsinos and Kelly Sibley.
Melissa Tapper, who also lost her singles game to Ho, says emotions were running high as the trio tried to defend the team bronze they won in Glasgow.
"You have so many highs and lows," she told AAP. "All of our matches were so close, it could have gone either way.
"It would've been really nice to bring home the win but she (Ho) played too well and massive kudos to her because she pulled off two big wins to get the team over the line."
The match lasted more than three hours and was England's first podium finish in the event.
Tapper wouldn't comment on whether Miao or Lay have indicated whether 2018 will be their final Games.
Singapore are favourites to win gold against India in the final at Oxenford Studios on Sunday night, having won the event three times since table tennis joined the Games in 2002.
