RIO DE JANEIRO -- Russia won a hard-fought contest against France to take Olympic womens handball gold Saturday, drawing motivation from a speech by coach Evgeny Trefilov that emphasized the teams underdog status.Neither of the finalists had been among the pre-tournament favorites -- the French had never won an Olympic medal and Russia was emerging from a prolonged rebuilding effort. That all changed when Russia toppled two-time defending gold medalist Norway and France upset the Netherlands in the semifinals.We knew we didnt have the right to lose. We got fired up, prepared very seriously, Russias Ekaterina Ilina said. (Trefilov) told us the French were happy to be playing us (instead of Norway), and that got us really angry.The team took the message to heart, grinding out a 22-19 victory at Future Arena that was the lowest-scoring final in Olympic womens history.Russia held a small lead for much of the game, and would have scored more if not for some spectacular saves by the French goalkeepers. Russias Anna Vyakhireva was the top scorer with five goals. France had several key players struggling with injuries.Trefilov led Russia to four world championship titles between 2001 and 2009, but Olympic gold eluded his team, with only a second-place finish in 2008. The team declined sharply after he left, but Trefilov returned in 2013 to turn things around. That meant a fifth-place world championship finish last year, but Olympic gold never seemed in the cards.Movement was the key for Russias miniature team against physically stronger France, he said. If youre small, you need to run away.Trefilov has drawn attention for his colorful outbursts during the Olympics.After one tight win in the group stage, Trefilov said he had wanted to hang everyone in the Russian dressing room at halftime. He was more relaxed following Saturdays win, but it didnt take long for him to return to his usual eccentric style, with praise for Brazilian food and a tirade against foreign coaches in Russian soccer.They wont fight for Russia, he said. In Russia we need a Russian coach.For France, the final was an unexpected success, and center-back Tamara Horacek said she hoped it would plant a seed of future growth.It was an exceptional game. We are happy. Of course we wanted the gold medal, she said. This arena is called the Future Arena, and regarding our future, I think nothing can stop us now.Earlier, Norway recovered from its semifinal loss to win the bronze medal, cruising to a 36-26 win over the Netherlands in a repeat of last years world championship final. Tournament top scorer Nora Mork had seven goals to take her total in Rio to 62.France plays Denmark in the mens final Sunday, after a bronze medal game between Germany and Poland. Jerseys From China .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Cheap Authentic Jerseys .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. http://www.wholesalejerseysnfl.us/ . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. China Jerseys Wholesale . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. When JP Duminy first travelled to Australia in 2008 he was, by his own admission, just a kid. There were few expectations on him - he only had an outside chance of playing in the three-Test series - until he exceeded all of them. Thats when he began to understand how severely responsibility could rest on his shoulders. With that, came intense pressure to perform.The difference [from then] is that I was a young kid, playing my debut Test against guys like Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden. It was quite intimidating, Duminy said on the eve of South Africas first tour game under lights in Australia. Now I am more established than I was then. I am coming into a Test series with a little bit more confidence and a little more stability in my role in the team and how I play Test cricket.To say Duminy has under-performed in the eight years since his debut is neither cruel nor critical. The numbers back it up.To date, he has played only 36 Tests, added only three more centuries, and has an average of 32.44. He spent a period out of the side with injury - sustained when he returned to Australia in 2012 - but was also dropped twice. The current sentiment in South Africa is that he is a placeholder until someone more capable comes along.Australia could be the place for Duminy to prove he can fulfill the potential he once showed. In the absence of AB de Villiers, South Africa need senior batsmen to step up. In the context of Duminys own career, he needs to step up. He has gone 11 matches without a century since the Galle Test in July 2014, when he got an unbeaten 100 at No. 8.Though his opportunities are sometimes limited by a heavyweight top-order, he also went 11 innings in 2015 without passing 35 and was dumped for the Newlands Test against England last summer.Duminys response was to score a double-hundred in a franchise match and force a return, but it was only when he struck an unbeaten 88 against New Zealand in South Africas last Test that he was reconsidered. Faf du Plessis, South Africas stand-in captain because AB de Villiers is injureed, went as far as to say that Duminys best was yet to come.dddddddddddd Some remain skeptical because Duminy has often threatened without following through, and with an in-form Rilee Rossouw in the squad, an immediate replacement is available if Duminy bombs.Thats why, for Duminy, the lead-up to this series is more important than most and he said he could not have asked for better. Its the best preparation weve had on any tour, to be honest. I cant recall this amount of time before a Test match on any tour, he said. Weve got 10 to 14 days of training leading up to the first Test. South Africa arrived in Adelaide on Tuesday, 16 days before they take on Australia in Perth. They have two practice matches before the first Test - including a day-night game - and one between the second and third Tests. Their preparation is focused on the pink ball and playing under lights because this trip will be their first encounter with day-night Test cricket. Duminy said they will need some time to adapt to that difference in colour and in light, which will take a few training sessions.The concerns for South African fans may be that with all the emphasis on Test cricket under lights, the team could forget that the first two matches will be played in normal conditions and if they dont compete in those, the outcome of the day-night game could be redundant. Duminy allayed such fears, stressing South Africa were using the ample time they had to do as much as they can to win a third successive series in Australia.We are concentrating on staying in our bubble, he said. We are coming into this series with a bit of confidence on the back of our one-day series but we understand that its a clean slate. This is Test cricket. We are not looking at what the expectations are. 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