Last year treated us to a huge amount of sporting moments here in the UAE, from Rory McIlroy’s domination to the national football team’s exploits, Paul Radley picks the 10 standout moments from sport in the Emirates in 2015.
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McIlroy’s golden UAE bookends
The UAE has long felt a part-ownership of Rory McIlroy. Nobody dominated the sporting landscape here in 2015 as much as the country’s favourite adopted Northern Irishman.
He started in the capital by finishing second to Gary Stal at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
That runners-up placing was his worst finish in three tournaments in the country this year. In February, he won the Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club, in December he won the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The spoils of his UAE success went a long way to ensuring he also claimed the Race to Dubai crown — despite playing around half the amount of competitions than his main rivals (and less than was supposedly required).
Amoory 'Panenkas' Japan Omar Abdulrahman has never appeared short on confidence. When the stakes were at their absolute zenith this year, the UAE's most bankable footballer still had ice in the veins.
In the quarter-final of January’s Asian Cup, the national team took the defending champions Japan to penalties.
Abdulrahman, the Al Ain playmaker who attracted rave reviews at the tournament, successfully executed a “Panenka” chip with the opening spot-kick. The UAE held on to win and cause the upset of the competition.
“It was a fantastic penalty,” Mahdi Ali, the coach, said. “As it was the first penalty, it made the spirit of the Japan goalkeeper drop.
“We are very happy with this fantastic goal, but I told him not to do it again because my heart cannot take it.”
They lost in the last four to hosts and eventual winners Australia, but their third-place finish was a fine achievement for the emerging national team.
Federer seven-up in Dubai By the start of March, there were three tournaments that Roger Federer had won seven times in his career: Wimbledon, Halle, and Dubai.
Later in the summer he went on to extend his record to eight in Halle, but the point still stands. The Swiss master has a special affinity with the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship.
To achieve his latest title in the city he had to do what so few have managed in recent times, namely topple Novak Djokovic.
They met in the final at the Aviation Club in Garhoud, with Federer beating the world No 1 6-3, 7-5 to take the silver dhow trophy.
“The seventh is quite unbelievable, what I hear people talking about that, announcing I’m the seven or six time winner here in Dubai,” Federer said. “Sounds pretty crazy.”
Emirati swimming pioneers Great feats of achievement have abounded in UAE sport in 2015. Not all of them can be charted by trophies or finishing times or the other standard measures, though.
When Nada Al Bedwawi, 18, and Alia Al Shamsi, 15, went to swimming’s World Championships in Kazan in August, they placed among the also-swams.
Their achievement was a lasting one, though: it was the first time female swimmers had represented the UAE at that level. They were pioneers.
“The UAE Swimming Federation is trying their best to equalise the opportunities men and women have,” Al Shamsi said. “However, I feel like some people are yet to accept the idea of breaking gender boundaries in this sport.”
Al Bedwawi added: “The best way to improve women’s swimming standards in the UAE is through changing the mentality of people, towards accepting that national women can take part in any sport, and demolishing the obstacles that they may face.”
Late glory for Godolphin With eight of the nine races over in the 20th anniversary Dubai World Cup meeting, Godolphin had given up hope of notching a win.
The Dubai racing operation did have two runners in the grand finale, including the reigning champion African Story.
The strongest challenge was said to be most likely from the visiting horses from the United States and Japan, though.
Then Prince Bishop came from 15 lengths back to shock the field. The eight year old became the oldest winner, and in record time, too.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Godolphin’s founder, said the win was a surprise.
“We hoped for Prince Bishop and African Story but we thought that the Americans would win,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “This result was a pleasant surprise.”
Ahmed Khalil, Asia's finest Ahmed Khalil's year with club and country has been one of glorious near-misses. He scored four goals in the UAE's uplifting run to a bronze medal at the Asian Cup in Australia in January.
Then he helmed Al Ahli’s run to second place in the leading club competition on the continent.
Cosmin Olaroiu, the Al Ahli manager, implored his side to “fight like Spartans” in their Asian Champions League final against Guangzhou Evergrande.
They eventually lost out by the odd goal in the away leg in China, but they made themselves heroes, and Khalil was the Spartan general.
For his troubles, he was named Asia’s player of the year, ahead of his national teammate Omar Abdulrahman.
“I cannot explain my feeling,” Khalil said after the award was made in India. “It means a lot to me. It’s not for me only, it’s for all the people of the Emirates.”
Rosberg lays down a marker The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix usually represents the finale to the Formula One season, but November's race felt more like an extended preamble to the next one.
Lewis Hamilton arrived in the capital having long since wrapped up the world title. Nico Rosberg’s subsequent win around Yas Marina Circuit was his third in a row, though.
His end-of-season form is a tantalising pointer to next year. Has the tide started to turn at Mercedes-GP, or was Hamilton already in his flip-flops, having won 10 of the first 16 races?
“I think being world champion sounds a lot better than winning the race, so that’s good,” Hamilton said.
Rosberg countered. “I’m excited about how the end of the season went,” he said. “Next year can come at any moment. It could start tomorrow if it were up to me, no problem. I don’t need holidays.”
Russia thrash New Zealand in rugby With invitation, social and vets tournaments running concurrently with the main event, many of the greatest feats at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens play out in front of relatively sparse gatherings.
Russia against New Zealand in the Women’s World Series was played on the main show field, but the vast scaffolding stands lining Pitch 1 were barely populated, as it was early on the Thursday.
Which means one of the greatest upsets the format has witnessed was seen by a mere few.
New Zealand, defending series and Dubai champions, barely had a touch of the ball as they were trounced 33-7 by their unheralded opponents.
The Russians proved it was no fluke, by reaching the final, where they almost overcame Australia, this time on the Saturday when the ground was packed to the rafters.
“We don’t play at many tournaments where there is such an amazing audience,” Nadezda Kudinova, the Russia captain and player of the tournament, said.
“Hopefully you will see us at the Olympics.”
In more predictable news, Fiji won the men’s event, and in box-office fashion, too.
Shaiman sparkles on the big stage The national cricket team started the year looking forward to a trip to a World Cup for just the second time in history.
By the end of 2015, the Emirates Cricket Board were planning to tear down the system that created that side, and entirely overhaul and modernise the sport in this country.
Their World Cup adventure in Australia and New Zealand itself was memorable chiefly for two things: the sightseeing, and the form of Shaiman Anwar with the bat.
In Brisbane, at one of Australia’s most storied cricket grounds, Shaiman became the first UAE cricketer to make a World Cup ton, when he hit 106 against Ireland at the Gabba.
It marked the high point of the campaign. The national team sunk to a narrow, two-wicket loss, and they got no closer to winning any of their six matches at the global showpiece.
Feng lords it over the ladies Rory McIlroy was more or less invincible on the fairways of the UAE. Roger Federer said his haul of wins at Dubai's Aviation Club has reached the extent where it sounds "crazy" to him.
And Michael Van Gerwen even clinched a hat-trick of titles in darts in Dubai. The Dutchman has still never been defeated here.
No one lorded it over their peers during the time they spent in the UAE in 2015 to quite the extent Shanshan Feng managed, though.
In winning her third Omega Dubai Ladies Masters title in December, she set a new record winning margin, as she ended 12 shots ahead of her nearest challenger.
“Before I came here this year, I didn’t really think I could win again,” Feng said. “I didn’t really aim that as a goal. I was like top five, just enjoy the week and just try my best on every shot.”
