The UAE's sportsmen held the region and world sports audiences enthralled with a host of success stories and achievements in 2007
It was a moment the entire nation seemed to have been waiting for and celebrations reached a new high when President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan presented the Gulf Cup to UAE skipper Mohammad Omar in January 2007.
The UAE football team's triumph in the Gulf Cup football championship ended a 35-year wait for success in the game that has been a national passion and while the team did the country proud there was one man who stood out - Esmail Matar.
The Gulf Cup is one of the most prestigious championships in the region with football strongholds such as Saudi Arabia, Asian Games gold medal winners and runners-up Qatar and Iraq respectively, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in the fray.
Scoring the goal
While the nation - both nationals as well as expatriates - followed the championship with intense interest, the UAE footballers churned out one impressive win after another and met Oman in the final.
A jam-packed Zayed Sports City erupted with joy when Esmail Matar struck in the 83rd minute against neighbours Oman and the UAE held on to win their first-ever major championship - their other big achievement in the game was their qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals in 1990.
The football triumph in January in fact, followed another major and historic achievement by the UAE endurance team in December 2006, just after the last National Day celebrations. Shaikh Rashid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum went down in history as the first all-brother team to win a gold in any major sporting event in the world.
The four sons of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, won the team gold in the Endurance event at the Asian Games in Doha while Shaikh Rashid also won the individual gold and Sultan Bin Sulayem won the bronze.
The double success came just a couple of days after Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum did the UAE proud with a silver medal in the women's 65-kg karate event at the Asiad.
The UAE endurance team continued to bring in laurels when the junior team won the team silver and the individual bronze medal at the World Junior Championship in Buenos Aires.
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Shaikh Mayed Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Sabousi brothers were in the team while Shaikh Abdullah Al Qasimi won the individual bronze.
Later in the year, Mubarak Khalifa Bin Shafya emerged European Open championship when he outclassed a host of riders in the championship held in Portugal.
Checkmating opponents
The UAE's first Grand Master, Taleb Mousa, won the gold medal in the Asian Zonal Chess Championship in Bahrain in October after sharing the top place with Iran's Ihsan Maghami. This is Mousa's second gold medal in four months. He earlier won the gold at the Asian Team championships in Iran.
In motor sport Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi impressed immensely by marking his debut at the World Rally Championship with a string of top 15 finishes in Finland, Germany and Spain.
The UAE's Salem AR Saleh emerged the Asian Youth Under-14 Chess Champion after winning the ninth and final round of the Asian Youth Chess Championship at the Al Ain Sports Club on August 31. Salem, who is now a FIDE master, is on track to clinch the GM title based on his present form.
In cricket, Owais Hameed won the best bowler award at the Asia Cup Under-19 tournament held in Malaysia in September. Owais picked up 16 wickets in the tournament.
The UAE also finished third in the Asian Cricket Council Under-19 tournament in Malaysia. In the third place playoff, the UAE beat Malaysia by five runs after the Duckworth Lewis rule was implemented in a rain-affected match.
