Rio 2016: In 28th spot in the table with just six medals, why are Brazil doing so poorly at a home Olympics?

They are below such sporting heavyweights as North Korea, Iran and Thailand - but why?

Rafaela Lopes Silva has been a rare source of joy for Brazil (Getty)

At the men’s C2 canoe slalom semi-finals last week, 10 of the 11 entrants qualified for the final so there was always going to be a lone pair of plucky losers who faced the humiliation of being sent packing. That the one team heading home before the real stuff began were the only Brazilian duo in action rather summed up the home nation’s Olympics.

At the start of the second week, Brazil are down in 28th spot in the table with just six medals - one gold from Rafaela Lopes Silva in judo, two silver and three bronze. They are below such sporting heavyweights as North Korea, Iran and Thailand.

Their haul in London was 17 so they are already behind the curve and that’s not taking into account the traditional spike associated with a home Games.

Of course, no one expects a country with as many as economic and social problems as Brazil suffers to be challenging the US at the top of the tree but sport is a way of life here – and the question must be asked as to whether what resources they do have are being channelled effectively.

Half the crowd that had made the journey out to Rio’s Deodoro complex for the canoeing dribbled away: no home hope, no point.

Many other veunes over the first week have been packed with yellow Brazil shirt-wearing fans eager to cheer on the home team, regardless of the sport – the intricacies of which, as with many Games, is lost on the occasional Olympic viewer. But that has not stopped them. They love a home hero here.

The biggest cheer of the night at the men’s singles tennis final was not when Andy Murray finally saw off the challenge of Juan Martin Del Potro – the Argentinian they enjoyed jeering – but was when Gustavo Kuerten, the former Brazilian player who won three French Opens, took his seat in the commentary box.

But there has been little on the pitch/court/track to cheer. In the men’s hockey Brazil lost 7-0 to Spain, 12-0 to Belgium, 9-1 to Britain, 9-0 to New Zealand and 9-0 to Australia. That’s for 1, against 46. Believe it or not, they finished bottom of their group.

In the women’s Rugby Sevens they lost 29-3 to GB and 38-0 to Canada before beating Japan, Colombia and Japan again to finish ninth.

There were high hopes that the Brazilan men’s tennis doubles team of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares could trouble the podium but they crashed out in three sets to the Romania pair of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the quarter-finals.

Mayra Aguiar won bronze in the -78kg judo category but it was bittersweet for home fans who had hoped to see a gold medal confrontation between Aguiar and her arch rival, America’s Kayla Harrison.

Brazil will hope to add to their meagre medal collection on Monday when Robert Scheidt goes for gold in the sailing and Arthur Zanetti does likewise on the gymnastic rings in the Olympic Arena, scene of home joy on Sunday when Diego Hypolito won silver behind Max Whitlock on the floor and Arthur Mariano took bronze. Hypolito burst into tears at the end – joy and perhaps relief at not having let down the expectant fans.

There are other hopes, too, in the shape of the men’s and women’s football teams. The men, who despite their rich talent have never won gold in the Olympics, made a shocking start and drew stinging criticism when they could only muster goalless draws with South Africa and Iraq.

After the Iran game they were jeered off the field and Iraq were applauded. Home fans have not forgotten the 7-1 humiliation at the home World Cup two years ago at the hands of Germany.

“We need to apologise to the fans, to the people of Brasilia,” the coach, Rogerio Micale, said after the game. “We didn’t play our best football. We feel like we left our fans frustrated.”

Mayra Aguiar won bronze in judo - to great scenes of jubilation (Getty)

They have since beaten Denmark 4-0 and Colombia 2-0 in the quarter-finals with poster boy Neymar finally getting on the scoresheet. But nothing less than gold will do. They now face Honduras in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

In frustration during the Iraq match, the fans chanted “Marta, Marta” a reference to star of the women’s national team. But it has not been straightforward for the women either.

They were a spot-kick from going out to Australia in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out after Marta had missed her effort following a 4-4 draw over 120 minutes. The goalkeeper Barbara saved Martha from opprobrium when she pushed Katrina Gorry’s effort round the post.

Brazil went on to win 7-6 in the shoot-out. Nervous times indeed. Next up is Sweden on Tuesday in the semis and they beat them 5-1 in the group game so will have high hopes of reaching the final.

And then there is beach volleyball. It won’t do not to win gold in a sport many here feel is their own even though its birthplace is Santa Monica in California. Brazil failed to win gold in London and a repeat in front of their own fans in either men’s or women’s will not be tolerated.

The men’s duo of Alison Conte Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt are safely in the quarter-finals and Larissa França and Talita Antunes and Agatha and Barbara, who sound like they should be playing whist not beach volleyball and have been far from convincing thus far, are in the semi-finals.

It will be some party should they reach the final. And will give Brazilians, so troubled on many levels in a country in economic turmoil, a moment’s light relief.

Silva, the gold medallist in judo, put it best: “I want to show that a child who left the City of God, and started in the sport of judo, today is a world and Olympic champion. If you have a dream, you have to believe,” she said. And isn’t that one of the key points of sport?