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GLASGOW -- Michelle Li captured Canadas first ever womens singles gold medal in badminton at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday. Then she lay down on the court, a smile of relief stretched across her face. "I think it was just everything kind of collapsed, all the tension and everything, trying to keep focused the whole week, and finally finished the very last (match) of the tournament, and I could finally relax and I could celebrate," Li said. "It was just all so overwhelming, and I think it was just incredible. So I had to lie down." The 22-year-old from Markham, Ont., dispatched Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in just 38 minutes, winning in straight sets 21-14, 21-7 on the final day of the Games. Canada hasnt won badminton gold at the Games since Claire Backhouse and Johanne Falardeau took the womens doubles title in 1982. No Canadian had ever won a womens singles title. "I set a goal for myself to definitely try to medal," Li said. "I knew there were a lot of tough opponents, and I knew it was not going to be easy, so I made myself focus on each match individually, one at a time, so I never really thought I have to get the gold medal. I tried to stay away from that pressure, so I just had to focus on my game." Li and Alex Bruce narrowly missed a womens doubles bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics after qualifying for the semifinals. Li, ranked No. 19 in the world, said her gold-medal performance on Sunday topped even that result. "The Olympics was for doubles, so it was a totally different event, and Ive never had the same results for singles, and this actually means a lot because I can do it in singles," she said. "Its nice to have been in the Olympic semifinals for doubles, but I think now Im focused on singles more, Im really happy I got a gold at Commonwealth. "Its definitely a huge stepping stone." Li, who was born in Hong Kong, won two gold medals at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She said this victory sets her up nicely for the world championships in two weeks in Copenhagen. "The competition definitely will be just as intense, and maybe even more intense," Li said. "Every round is going to be tough and I just hope I can go through every round like how I went through them here." Fake Shoes . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Wholesale Fake Shoes . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide. Cheap Fake Shoes . Reimer told TSNs Mark Masters on Tuesday that he doesnt know if he will be moved leading up to the March 5 trade deadline but added he wasnt interested in discussing it. "Who knows whats going to happen on the horizon here and right now I dont know if I want to talk about it too much. Fake Yeezy . Martin Reway and David Griger both recorded four points with a goal and three assists each. Mario Lunter, Daniel Gachulinec and Stanislav Horansky also scored for Slovakia (1-0). Dominik Kahun had both goals for Germany (0-2), who lost its opening match to Canada 7-2 on Thursday.TORONTO -- Harry Redknapp got a rude shock after taking over Queens Park Rangers in November 2012. The team was in last place in the English Premier League, its roster filled with bloated contracts and egos. "The attitude stank. Attitude towards the game, attitude towards training," he wrote in his autobiography "Always Managing." "I cant remember a worse one -- and behaviour like that cannot be altered overnight." Redknapp, however, found one kindred spirit. "Within weeks I had worked out that my best player was Ryan Nelsen, a 35-year-old New Zealand international -- and he couldnt wait to get out," Redknapp wrote. "`Youve got no chance, he told me. Not a prayer. This is the worst dressing room Ive ever been in in my life. You havent got a hope with this lot. I dont know how you solve it." Today, Nelsen is in his second season as manager of Toronto FC. He recalls his season with QPR -- his finale as a player -- as a ringside seat on what happens when a dressing room goes wrong. "It was an amazing learning experience for me," he said in an interview this week. Redknapp, whose team was relegated at the end of the 2012-13 season, is on the verge of taking QPR back to the Premier League after one season in the Championship. QPR faces Derby Country on Saturday at Wembley in a promotion playoff worth up to 120 million pounds (C$220.5 million), mostly from broadcast rights, according to a 2013 report by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte. With reported debts of 177 million pounds (C$325 million), Queens Park Rangers could do with hitting the promotion jackpot despite the deep pockets of millionaire owner Tony Fernandes. Among the things Nelsen learned at QPR was the need to get recruitment right, to watch wages and that a good football team needs chemistry off the field as well as organization in it. "It was an environment that probably players were getting paid too much for potentially their mentality to win," he said of QPR. "Young guys probably on too much before they had earned it." There were also older players who might have lost their fire. And second-tier Championship players who had the character desire but perhaps not the talent needed. "Everybody tried their best to get the mixture right, but it just didnt jell," said Nelsen. "It was just wrong." The ill-fated QPR spending spree was funded by Fernandes, a British-Malaysian businessman whose net worth as of February was valued at US$650 million according to Forbes magazine. He took over in August 2011, almost a year before Nelsen came on board. The New Zealand international didnt expect to play much at QPR, thinking his job would be to help then-manager Mark Hughes and successor Redknapp off the pitch. He ended up playing 21 league matches, becoming captain and turning into a fan favouriite before leaving in January 2103 to take over Toronto FC.dddddddddddd Nelsen points no fingers today, saying the intentions of Hughes and Fernandes "were so right for the club to do really well." The rot had set in too much by the time Redknapp took over. "There had to be a clearout before you could get it back again," he said. There are more fashionable soccer teams in London but Loftus Road, QPRs home in Shepherds Bush, has seen its share of players with flair in Rodney Marsh, Stan Bowles and Gerry Francis in the 1960s and 70s. A blue-collar club, QPR won the League Cup in 1966-67 and was runner-up in 1985-86. It was also runner-up in the FA Cup in 1981-82 and was runner-up in the First Division, precursor to the Premier League, in 1975-76. Celebrity QPR fans included musicians Phil Collins, Pete Doherty and composer Michael Nyman. A no-nonsense defender at the end of his playing career, Nelsens work ethic appealed to the QPR fans tired of rental players on big salaries. "I think they just liked that I worked hard and tried to win games," said Nelsen. "People respected that." Nelsen loved the QPR supporters right back. "But it wasnt right off the field," he said of the team. "And that weighed heavily on me because I was kind of brought in to help that out." QPR was relegated several months after Nelsens departure to Canada. According to the Daily Mail, the clubs wage bill was higher than that of Spanish champion and Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid. Toronto benefited from the subsequent clearout, with Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar coming to MLS on a loan agreement. Loic Remy (Newcastle) and Adel Taarabt (AC Milan) were also sent out on loan. Cesar, whose attitude has earned nothing but praise from Toronto coaches and players, says QPR wants him back in August. The team will have to reload if it returns to the Premier League. Redknapp, a master wheeler and dealer, brought in hardened veterans of the Championship to help climb back up the mountain. "He invested really wisely," said Nelsen. "He moved guys that probably had big value. And in saying that, their value has probably increased." Nelsen will be watching closely this weekend. "Ive got a lot of friends on that QPR team," he said. In addition to the big-time Charlies, he remembers of group of honest players desperate to succeed. "And QPR had them. They probably got outnumbered bit a little at the end but those guys, you wish them the best so badly. and for Harry as well, because at his age (now 67) he probably could have gone off and retired somewhere. But he knuckled down in the Championship and you wish them all the success. "All of his coaching staff were fantastic when I was there. And theyve helped me since Ive been here, to tell you the truth." ' ' 'ne-word answer: "Better." ' ' '
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