Every day over three weeks, The National looks back at the 21 greatest moments in UAE sports history.
When a heart condition pushed Sheikh Ahmed bin Hasher into retirement just a few months shy of the 2012 Olympics, he felt hurt.
“If it was my decision to stop, it would not be a big deal, but I am forced,” he said.
So the fire was still burning. After delivering the UAE their greatest ever Olympic moment in Athens in 2004, he had feared it might have been extinguished.
“To win a gold medal is both good and bad,” the UAE’s lone Olympic champion said subsequently.
“Good is you have won a gold. Bad is you won't be so interested in the sport.
“When I won the Olympics and the world championship, I had everything. There's nothing to work for.”
To say that gold in the double-trap shooting event in Athens was the culmination of a life’s work might not be entirely accurate. A life’s passion more like.
His father and grandfather had been fine shooters, and he inherited the obsession. Where other children might sleep with a favourite cuddly toy, he would have a new gun beside him.
"I loved shooting when I was a kid and would leave my bike to get rusty but clean my gun every day," he told The National after retiring, aged 48, in January 2012.
He competed in both the trap and double-trap events at Sydney in 2000, falling short of the final in each.
Four years later, though, he was at his peak. He finished fourth in the single trap event, then trounced the competition in the double trap, winning with an Olympic record-equalling score of 189.
The crowning moment remains in all its glory on YouTube.
He raises his double-barrelled shotgun and takes aim at targets emerging from traps either side of a shooting range.
Then the two luminous orange clays dissolve into puffs of dust, and Sheikh Ahmed kisses the barrel of his Beretta shotgun, before embracing his rivals.
The UAE’s finest ever Olympian said when he ended his competitive shooting career that he hoped to inspire and even coach a new generation to follow his success.
He made a great success of that, too, although by an unexpected route.
Instead of bringing through a new Emirati star in his image, he made a champion out of a farmer’s son from England’s south west.
When Peter Wilson won gold in a tense double trap final in 2012, it gave palpitations for his coach – who had six months earlier given up competing himself as finishes like that were not good for his health.
Wilson was the world record holder in the discipline at the time, but still termed his Dubai-based coach as “the greatest double trap shot of all-time”.
Eight years on, he remains the UAE’s greatest ever Olympian, too.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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