Gary Meenaghan

With sweat running down his chiselled face, Pedro Henrique Peres claimed top honours at the Dubai Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship on Saturday. Having progressed through the elimination bracket, the Brazilian was forced to face his teammate, Alexander Trans, in the black belt final of the open-weight category, and emerged victorious on points at the Al Wasl Club.

Brazilian takes third place at Italian Grand Prix.

Briton puts bad start – and rival Rosberg – behind him to claim victory in Italian Grand Prix and cut the points gap at the top.

Mercedes-GP teammates reaffirm that they are free to fight each other for victory at Monza in the 53-lap race.

Rio mayor calls for calm as two-year countdown begins on trouble 2016 Olympic Games, Gary Meenaghan writes from Brazil

Rio 2016 officials joke that the recently completed 2014 Fifa World Cup was merely a test event for the real thing, the 2016 Olympic Games.

Tuesday marks two years until the start of the 2016 Olympic Games and more than half of Rio’s 16 Olympic venues are not expected to be completed until late 2015 at the earliest, reports Gary Meenaghan.

In its handling of two major recent affairs, writes Gary Meenaghan, we are witness to how the Brazilian Football Confederation 'perfectly encapsulates all that is wrong with the sport in its spiritual home'.

With the month-long tournament behind us, Gary Meenaghan, our man in Brazil, draws up a list of characters and moments that will have made this edition of football’s flagship event truly memorable.

Arjen Robben at the Netherlands, James Rodriguez of Colombia, several Germans and even Javier Mascherano, Messi’s teammate at Argentina, could arguably have challenged for the recognition, writes Gary Meenaghan.

Gary Meenaghan was in Brazil for all of the World Cup 2014 action and picks his five disappointing flops of the tournament.

Germany coach says he gave eventual goalscorer pep-talk before bringing on as substitute in World Cup final, writes Gary Meenaghan.

Gary Meenaghan was in Brazil for all of the World Cup 2014 action and picks his three stars of the tournament, along with other top players, a few substitutes and the best manager.

While Argentina are notoriously Messi-reliant, writes Gary Meenaghan, 'in contrast Germany have a conveyor belt of quality' in the form of Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos and many more.

Subdued mood lingers over World Cup hosts ahead of third-place play-off, writes Gary Meenaghan