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Neymar's nerves of steel hand Brazil first football gold

August 21, 2016

Rio De Janeiro, Aug 21: Neymar struck the winning penalty as Brazil claimed a first ever Olympic football gold medal with victory over Germany on penalties at Rio's Maracana.neymer

The 5-4 shoot-out win exacted revenge for a humiliating 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany two years ago.

Olympic gold was the only major title to have escaped five-time world champions Brazil in their history.

But Barcelona star Neymar righted that historical wrong as he fired the winning penalty into the top corner before breaking into tears.

In front of the biggest crowd of Rio's Games, including nine-time Jamaican gold medallist Usain Bolt, Neymar's brilliant free-kick handed Brazil a first-half lead.

In honour of the retiring sprinting great, Neymar even adopted the "lightning bolt" celebration, whilst chants of "ole, ole, ole, Neymar" rang around Rio's most iconic arena.
However, Germany captain Max Meyer enjoyed a special celebration of his own as he taunted the raucous 78,000 crowd at the Maracana by kissing the number seven on his shirt when he swept home Jeremy Toljan's cross just before the hour mark.

The first eight penalties in the shootout were all successful before Brazil goalkeeper Weverton stopped Nils Petersen's effort to set the stage for Neymar.

And he didn't disappoint as, with the weight of a nation on his shoulders, he rifled the ball into the top corner.

In stark contrast to the empty seats on show across the Games, even at times when Bolt has been running, there wasn't a seat to be had at the Maracana -- where Germany won the World Cup against Lionel Messi's Argentina two years ago.

However, it was for the 7-1 mauling in Belo Horizonte five days previously that Brazil were seeking revenge.

None of the players that took to the field that day started on Saturday.

Neymar missed the darkest day in Brazil's football history due to two broken bones in his back suffered during a bruising quarter-final win over Colombia.

Yet, the good fortune that escaped Brazil on home soil two years ago was certainly with them in the first-half as Germany were desperately unlucky to go in behind at the break.
Julian Brandt's fine curling effort came back off the bar, whilst Sven Bender also hit the woodwork from close range.

In between times, Neymar had opened the scoring via the bar with a sumptuous dipping effort from 25 yards for his third goal of the tournament.

Weverton made a fine save from Meyer and Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos was fortunate when his mishit clearance flew inches over his own crossbar.

However, Weverton was beaten for the first time in the competition just before the hour mark when Meyer swept home Toljan's low cross.

Brazil piled on the pressure in the final half hour of normal time as Gabriel Jesus turned Renato Augusto's dangerous cross just wide, substitute Felipe Anderson fluffed his lines and Neymar's effort from distance flew just off target.

The hosts had the better chances in extra-time too as Luan burst clear only to see his shot blocked before Anderson was denied when one-on-one with Horn.

Thankfully for Rogerio Micale's men they were far more clinical from the spot as Augusto, Marquinhos, Rafinha and Luan all netted to hand Neymar the chance to live up to his billing as the host's poster boy for the Games.

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Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive. 

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Christchurch, Mar 2: India captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the under-fire Rishabh Pant has got a "lot of chances" but the team is not looking to try someone else in the youngster's place just yet as one player can't be singled out in a collective failure.

Pant has been under the scanner for the past one year because of his inconsistent run. His tally of 60 runs across four innings in the 0-2 Test series loss to New Zealand, which concluded here on Monday, has only amplified the debate whether it was prudent to leave out a keeper of Wriddhiman Saha's calibre and back Pant.

"...we have given him (Pant) a lot of chances in the home season as well starting from Australia. Then he was not playing for a bit. In turn he really worked hard on himself," Kohli came to Pant's defence after the series here.

"You need to figure out when is the right time to give someone else a chance. If you push people too early, they can lose confidence," he added.

"...collectively, we didn't perform. I don't believe in singling him out. We take the hit together as a group whether it's the batting group or as a team."

When asked if he believes Pant has taken his place in the side for granted, Kohli made it clear that the culture of this team doesn't encourage anyone to think along those lines.

"I don't see anyone taking his place for granted in this team. That's the culture we have set. People are told to take responsibilities and work hard. Whether it happens or not is a different thing. Then you can have a conversation with the players," he said.

"But no one has come here thinking I am going to play every game or I am indispensable," he added in no uncertain terms.

Kohli, just like head coach Ravi Shastri, made it clear that Pant can make a difference in overseas conditions and he won't like to deviate during future tours.

"The time that he didn't play, he really worked hard on his game. So we thought this is the right time because of his game and the way he plays because he can make a difference lower down the order.

"That was our planning behind it. We can't really fluctuate when it comes to what we planned," he added.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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