“Obviously this tournament had a special meaning for Brazil”, Neymar said. At one match, fans cheered her by chanting “Better Than Neymar”.
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In the men’s singles event in badminton, World No.1 and three-time finalist Lee Chong Wei once again suffered a heartbreak in the final after World No.2 Chen Long of China defeated him in straight sets. Fireworks burst over the stadium, vehicle horns blared and fans sang and tossed beer into the air.
The forward was unable to rank his gold medal among his achievements, but he was relieved to have added it. This was a landmark victory over a country that had inflicted an humiliating 7-1 defeat on it two years ago, in the semifinal of its own World Cup. Brazil was also coming off a demoralizing elimination in the group stage of this year’s Copa America. Neymar put Brazil ahead 1-0 with a superb free kick in the 26th minute – and Usain Bolt celebrated along with the raucous crowd.
That criticism melted away amidst chants of “ole, ole, ole Neymar” in front of the biggest crowd of the Games at the Maracana as Neymar led the hosts to a long-awaited gold.
The game finished 1-1 after extra-time, with Neymar first scoring for Brazil with a magnificent free kick in the 27th minute before German skipper Maximilian Meyer tied it with an awesome goal to force an overtime period.
Now three-time Olympic champions in men’s volleyball, Brazil’s previous success came when they beat Italy at the Athens Games in 2004.
Beating Sweden 2-1 for the gold sent her out in style.
The greatest soccer player of this generation of Brazil’s stars, Neymar calmly seized this moment.
Goalkeeper Weverton was full of praise for Neymar, saying: “God has blessed me”.
“I can’t begin to describe my feelings. It wasn’t easy. I don’t know what else to say, I’m just really happy”.
“Now we need to look toward the future”, said Rogerio Micale, the coach of Brazil’s Olympic team. He did not elaborate.
Olympic football may be a sideshow for most but it has been the main event for the millions of Brazilians that, throughout the competition, have crammed around TVs and filled stadiums at an Olympics when tickets have proved hard to shift. The Brazilian football federation took the Olympic tournament as seriously as ever, bringing Neymar and many talented youngsters that are expected to be in the main squad in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Success for the home nation prompted a huge outpouring of joy at the Maracana, with Neymar – part of the team that lost the 2012 Olympic final to Mexico – in tears after sealing gold.
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Caster Semenya of South Africa won the Olympic title in the 800 meters with no one close to challenging her. Mo Farah of Britain became the first runner in 40 years to win back-to-back long-distance doubles at the Olympics by taking gold in the men’s 5,000 meters.
