Die Macht » throughout the mmatch, before

RIO DE JANEIRO -- With Olympic medals starting to roll in, Brazilians looking to toast their success might try a sakerinha. Yes, thats a real drink -- a fusion of Japanese sake and the national cocktail, the caipirinha, that is as thoroughly Brazilian as samba and sun.Though few visitors flooding into the country for the Summer Games might know: Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, with some 2 million Brazilians tracing their ancestry back to the Asian nation.Many came early in the 20th century as poorly paid agricultural workers who labored on coffee plantations in southern Brazil. The population then was overwhelmingly black or brown, and the Japanese were recruited, along with European immigrants and others, as part of a government policy to whiten the country. Brazil was the last country in the Americas to ban slavery, in 1888.Japanese roots have long been found up and down the roster of Brazils Olympic teams, past and present.Charles Koshiro Chibana, a second-generation Japanese-Brazilian, is one of the countrys best judo athletes and has trained in Japan, where the sport was born. Ive made many friendships in Japan, he said, and I always feel at home there.Chibana, who lost in his first match Sunday to the eventual bronze medal winner, Japans Masashi Ebinuma, claims Portuguese as his first language but speaks Japanese at home with his parents. I always learn from Japan, he said.Mahau Camargo Suguimati, set to compete Monday, is a Brazilian-born hurdler who trained and studied for much of his life in Japan, mostly in Saitama prefecture not far from Tokyo. Paula Harumi Ishibashi, captain of Brazils womens rugby sevens team, was born in Sao Paulo but traces her roots to Japan.Six-time Olympic table tennis player Hugo Hoyama is a third-generation Japanese-Brazilian; hes coaching the Brazilian womens team in Rio. And Japanese-Brazilian Chiaki Ishii won Brazils first Olympic medal in judo at the 1972 games. He was born in Japan but immigrated to Brazil after he failed to make the team in his homeland.Many of those not competing also have a foot in both countries.Geraldo Omachi, a mining engineer, is working as a Japanese-Portuguese translator for the Rio organizing committee. Omachi said his parents left Japan in the 1960s looking for more space and what he called a more open way to live. He calls his own life combined. He loves to eat rice -- but only Japanese rice -- with his Brazilian black beans.I suppose I am more Brazilian, but I have a lot of me that is very Japanese, said Omachi, whose speaks Portuguese at home with his children and wife, whom he described as Brazilian-Brazilian -- part native and the descendant of slaves.Three decades ago, amid a booming economy in Japan, many Japanese-Brazilians made the move there to work in car plants or high technology industries, taking advantage of passport and residency rights.Oizumi, a few hours northwest of Tokyo, boasts one of Japans largest Brazilian communities. Brazilian restaurants and supermarkets abound, while convenience stores stock foods like farofa (toasted cassava), black beans and the beloved Brazilian peanut confection Pacoquita. Malls there often have signs written in Japanese and Portuguese telling shoppers where to return their carts.Shizuka Luiza Ameku was born in Brazil, has a Japanese passport, and has split her life between the two countries. She often feels torn between cultures, as well.Sometimes I feel lost, she said. Sometimes Im told I look like a Japanese, but in some places they say Im not Japanese, Im a Brazilian.Ameku is working at the Olympics helping the Japanese television network NHK find rooms, make reservations and order food. Her mother and father emigrated from Japans southern island of Okinawa to Bolivia, and then to Brazil.Four languages reverberate in her parents home: Japanese, Okinawan, Portuguese and Spanish.Its a very crazy language we speak, a bit like our background, she said. We start with one, and end with another.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . 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There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Canberra have got their W-League campaign off the mark with Ashleigh Sykes piloting them to a 1-0 win over Brisbane.Sykes fired home ten minutes into the second half after Michelle Heyman had laid the groundwork.It was a high-quality end-to-end affair and Brisbane will feel aggrieved they didnt get anything from the contest, with Tameka Butt hitting the crossbar.After three rounds, two-time champions United have one win from their two matches.Competition favourites and leaders Melbourne City sat out the weekend, and both Sydney FC and Newcastle took full advantage to move equal first.The Jets proved they will be a force to be reckoned with this season after a tough 1-0 win over the unbeaten Perth Glory to sit narrowly top on goal difference.There were missed chances at both ends throughout the mmatch, before American striker Jen Hoy delivered the games decisive moment by converting a penalty just after half time.ddddddddddddIt wasnt all good news for the Jets however with goalkeeper Kelsey Wys set for an MRI scan on her knee after being taken off during the first half.Sydney FC collected a 2-1 win at Melbourne Victory with first-half goals from Alanna Kennedy and Remy Siemsen.Western Sydney Wanderers got their first points of the season with a 2-1 home win over Adelaide United.It was the Wanderers American imports that made the difference, with Katie Stengel and Paige Nielsen both scoring spectacular long-range efforts either side of an Adriana Jones goal. 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