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CHANDIGARH:?Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni handed India a convincing 2-0 lead on the opening day of their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania second round tie in Chandigarh on Friday. While Ramkumar had a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-5 win over Seong-Chan Hong in the opening rubber, Saketh outlasted Yong-Kyu Lim, quite literally, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 5-2.Indias decision to host the tie on grass proved to be a prudent one with the Koreans wilting under hostile weather conditions and an unfamiliar surface. Both the Korean players, Hong and Lim, stiff from spasms and visibly undone, conceded their respective matches against Ramkumar and Saketh respectively.While Saketh too battled spasms in the latter part of his rubber, what worked in his favour was that his opponent too was contending with a similar predicament. For one, it seemed bizzare that three out of the four players in action suffered from spasms. Thankfully India managed to limp to a lead. Unless something goes horribly wrong, the seasoned duo of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna should be able to comfortably wrap up the tie for India on Saturday and romp into the World Group playoff.Making his Davis Cup debut, 21 year-old Ramkumar, who has been training in Barcelona since the last five years, showed just why the faith reposed in him as Indias next best singles hope isnt misplaced. I think I handled the pressure well. I didnt allow it to get to me. Even if he had not conceded, I was confident of pulling it off, Ramkumar reflected after the match.Breaking his opponent, ranked No 427, in the seventh game of the first set, with a blistering forehand, Ramkumar nosed ahead to a 4-3 lead. Though there were occasions when his serve didnt seem menacing enough, like in the eighth game, where he was guilty of three double faults, the Chennai boy showed the heart and legs to take the first set 6-3.Defying forecasts, the rain gods chose not to mar play, with the sultry conditions seemingly sapping both players of power. Coming into the spotlight after upsetting Indias then No 1 singles Somdev Devvarman in the opening round of the Chennai Open in 2015, Ramkumar stepped it up from the third set, his serves landing deep and hard and the deft volleys leaving a tiring Hong scrambling all over the court.With Ramkumar serving for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set, Hong shanked a double handed backhand into the mesh before bending over double, holding his right leg, in what appeared to be a spasm, in visible pain. Conceding the rubber within minutes, a grimacing Hong was carried away from the court by his teammate. Saketh, despite being in visible discomfort from the fag end of the third set, managed to pull himself through. Breaking Lim in the opening game of the fifth set proved to be crucial.Swallowing the pain, he held serve and broke Lim in the fifth game before racing to a 5-1 lead. At 5-2 with Saketh serving for the match, sapped of any power to cobble up a resistance, Lim fell on his back and lay motionless as the Indian camp erupted with joy. Custom Blues Jersey China .com) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to halt their longest losing streak of the season when they host the struggling New York Islanders in tonights clash at the Bell Centre. Blues Jerseys China . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- With her arms raised in victory, coach Silvia Neid ran onto the field to join the celebration of Germanys first Olympic gold medal -- even jumping onto the players dogpile.What a way to go out.Dzsenifer Marozsan scored early in the second half Friday and Germany went on to give Neid a 2-1 victory over Sweden for the nations first Olympic title in womens soccer.Neid, a two-time FIFA Womens Coach of the Year, is stepping down following the Rio Olympics. The win at the iconic Maracana Stadium gave her one more championship to cap her 11-year career as Germanys coach.What I felt was pure joy, because I know that was what we had earned and what we have worked so hard for, Neid said.Sweden, which upset the three-time defending champion United States on penalties in the quarterfinals, earned the silver medal for its best finish in the Olympic tournament since the sport joined the program in 1996. The Swedes also defeated Brazil on penalties in the semifinals, disappointing the host nations fans.I think we actually won the silver medal rather than losing the gold, Sweden coach Pia Sundhage said.Earlier in the day, Canada defeated host Brazil 2-1 for the bronze medal in Sao Paulo. The Canadians also won the bronze at the London Games.Germany and Sweden were playing in the gold-medal match for the first time. It was also the Olympics first all-European final.Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult gave piggy-back rides to her fellow players in the post-game celebration. Forward Anja Mittag held the jersey of teammate Simone Laudehr, who was injured in the tournaments opening match, during the medal ceremony.This is definitely a new summit for German womens football, Neid said.The German mens team is also playing in a gold-medal match at the Maracana, facing host Brazil on Saturday. Its the first time one nation has had both its teams in the final.The German women went into Fridays match with a tournament-leading 11 goals, paced by Melanie Behringer with five.Germany had the better chances in the first half, including Mittags rebound in the 25th minute that went just wide of the net. Lotta Schelins blast three minutes later sailed over the goal and the match was scoreless at the break.Marozsans goal in the 48th sailed between two defenders and into the top-right corner, just beyond the outstretched fingertips of Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.Marozsans frree kick in the 62nd minute hit the post and rebounded off Swedens Linda Sembrant for an own-goal, giving Germany a 2-0 advantage.dddddddddddd But the Swedes narrowed it in the 67th on Stina Blackstenius sliding goal in front of Schult.In the previous two matches, Sweden hunkered down on defense -- drawing criticism from U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo -- but Sundhage had her team attack more against Germany.Its different to play against the U.S. and Brazil -- and Germany -- you have to look at the differences, Sundhage said. We felt we were stronger and had more speed against the Germans, so it was the game plan at the very beginning.Neid announced last year that she would step down following the Rio de Janeiro Games, making way for assistant Steffi Jones to take over as coach. Neid will take on a new role as a scout.Its very easy for me to hand of the reins to somebody else. Its completely different when you decide yourself when to stop, she said. I would like to hand over a good team to Steffi Jones. We are in very good shape now weve worked very hard and that is the most important thing.Neid scored 48 goals in 111 games as a player for the German national team from 1982-96. She was an assistant on Germanys team that won the 2003 World Cup, then took over as coach of the senior women in 2005, leading the team to another World Cup title in 2007. She was named FIFA Womens Coach of the Year for 2010 and 2013.Sundhages contract is up Dec. 31, and she has not given an indication of what she might do. Shes had an equally illustrious coaching career, winning gold medals with U.S. national team at both the Beijing and London Games. She led the Americans to the final match of the 2011 World Cup, but the team fell on penalties to Japan. She returned home to coach Sweden in 2013.Germany also defeated Sweden 2-1 on a golden goal to win the 2003 Womens World Cup, which was held in the United States because of the SARS outbreak in China.Neid said for 34 years she has been a player, an assistant or a coach.Now I want to do something else, she said through a translator. I want to keep on learning other things. I want to do something different.---This story has been corrected to show the Germany goalkeepers name is Almuth Schult, not Alumuth Schelt. ' ' '