A to Z of a sporting year

The year 2007 had its share of the good (like Iraq's Asian Cup soccer triumph), substantial portions of the bad (betting, doping, match-fixing etc) and intermittent doses of the ugly as well (Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer's death and soccer violence). It was bizarre (food poisoning claims against the Russians during a Davis Cup tie) as well as brilliant (some Rugby World Cup matches, a few Formula One races and some sublime performances by Roger Federer, Kaka and Tiger Woods) and occasionally even comical (like the F1 row which was kicked off in a nondescript photo copying shop). Here's the first section of a two-part series on A to Z of sports in 2007 by Vijay Mruthyunjaya.

A - Australia, Viswanathan Anand

The Australian cricketers underlined their supremacy in both shorter and longer versions of the game; the setback in the Twenty20 version was only an aberration. They ruthlessly demolished all opposition in the World Cup to stay as champions for the third time in a row. The one-sided final was a microcosm of the Australian domination. More importantly, the Aussies marked 2007 in typical fashion: punishing England and New Zealand for daring to defeat them - the Aussies regained the Ashes and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy in brutal fashion.

Anand once again provided the soothing balm to a nation singed by the setbacks suffered by its star cricketers in the World Cup. Winning the World Chess Championship in Mexico City in September, he proved that he is an evergreen champion in a nation suffering from a severe shortage of enduring sporting heroes.

B - Balco, Betting

The Balco laboratory scandal finally claimed its most prominent victim in Marion Jones who confessed to using steroids before the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. A tearful confession (also the saddest picture of the year) did not draw much sympathy as the International Olympic Committee stripped her of the medals she won in Sydney which included three golds.

Charges of betting did not leave even the 'squeaky clean' sport of tennis untouched. Italy's Alessio Di Mauro became the first professional to be caught in a betting crackdown. He was banned for nine months and fined $60,000 after it was found that he wagered on other players' matches.

C - Angel Cabrera, World Cups

Little-known Cabrera became the first Argentine in golf history to win the US Open. Funnily, it was also the first time that an interpreter was required in US Open history to help present the trophy to the winner. His final round 69 was very impressive considering he had never won a PGA tour event before.

Of the two major World Cups witnessed this year, the rugby union showpiece event was by far the most successful. Argentina beat France and Fiji punched above their weight in the first round to turn on the heat before South Africa beat England in the final to regain the World Cup. The cricket World Cup, by contrast, was too long, too boring and featured too many meaningless games. The Twenty20 World Cup, on the other hand, was an outstanding success in its inaugural year.

D - Drugs, Deaths

Drugs, death and violence dogged major sports all round the year. Martina Hingis was the most unlikely victim testing positive for cocaine. It proved an inglorious end to a journey that had begun 27 years ago when her Swiss parents named her after tennis great Martina Navratilova.

Death left behind an even more deadly trail in 2007, particularly that of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer during the cricket World Cup in the West Indies. It had all the trappings of a typical whodunit scenario and triggered an exhaustive investigation. Two more deaths - of a policeman and a fan in Italy - were more gory and prompted EU authorities to propose the formation of a special police force for sport.

E - England

The unlucky team of the year as it lost two titles (Rugby World Cup and Formula One) in a span of 24 hours. The world squash title towards the end of the year and boxing heroics from super middle-weight champion Joe Calzaghe and wonder kid Amir Khan were deserving successes, but certainly scant for a nation still mourning the soccer team's defeat to Croatia which cost a place in the European Championship finals.

F - Roger Federer

Federer swept all before him in classic style. Winning eight titles, including three Grand Slams, and suffering only nine defeats, the Swiss was in a league of his own. Though it paled in comparison to 12 titles and just five defeats in 2006, the 26-year-old was unrelenting. Among the records in 2007 was his streak as No 1 for a record 203 weeks. He holds a commanding 1,445-point lead over nearest rival Rafael Nadal. More importantly, he took his Grand Slam tally to 12, just two away from Pete Sampras' record of 14.

G - Adam Gilchrist, Haile Gebrselassie

Gilchrist displayed his remarkable diversity of talent in a deft manner. A destructive century in the World Cup final (with a squash ball in his glove, if you remember) early in the year was matched by his sixes heroics towards the end. He became the first man to strike a century of sixes in Tests - his 100th six went out of the stadium and landed in a nearby lane.

Gebrselassie finally fulfilled the promise of delivering a world marathon record winning the Berlin event (September 30, 2007) in 2:04:26, shaving 29 seconds off Paul Tergat's record set on the same course in 2003. It was one of many records set by the 34-year-old Ethiopian.

H - Justin Henin, Lewis Hamilton

Henin began the year losing her husband following a bitter divorce. But by the end of the year she was back at the top of the world winning the French and US Open titles. The Belgian finished the year with a fitting victory at the WTA Championship in Madrid. In between, she was also able to bridge relationship with her estranged family members. "I don't know why we're not talking about Justine Henin all the time because, for her size, she's the greatest athlete we've ever seen," said former great Billie-Jean King paying the biggest compliment to Henin.

Hamilton was the toast of Formula One till the spying controversy broke out to stymie the most glamorous sport like never before. The rookie sensation began his career in stunning fashion (on March 18, 2007) finishing third in his debut race before going on to finish the season with a plethora of records - nine podiums in a row and four wins to finish second to champion Kimi Raikkonen, a point behind on 109 points. The 22-year-old first English black driver led the championship from the third race till the last. Never before had a driver come as close as him to winning the title at the first attempt.

I - Iraq, India

Iraq provided the most poignant moment in 2007 winning the Asian Cup. The 1-0 victory over favourites Saudi Arabia transcended sport - it was a triumph of human spirit as much as athleticism and skill. A patchwork team of Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish players, fractured by the sectarian violence in their homeland and equally touched by personal tragedy, produced the greatest upset of the year.

India continued to enrage and entice its fans in equal measure. Downright shoddy cricket at the World Cup in the West Indies where they bowed out in the first round was replaced with superlative performance in Twenty20 World Cup won against all odds. Victory in the Nehru Cup soccer, Asian Cup hockey and Pankaj Advani's exploits in the World Billiards (time format) Championship made it a reasonably good year for the second most populous nation on the planet. But chess maestro Anand was definitely the hero of the year.

J - Zach Johnson

Johnson was the biggest gainer in golf and the most surprising major winner when he won the Masters in Augusta (on April 8, 2007) beating Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini by two strokes. His score of 289 (+1) tied Sam Snead (1954) and Jack Burke Jr. (1956) for the highest winning score ever recorded for this tournament and took his ranking from No 56 to 15.

K - Kaka, Jacques Kallis

Kaka came closest to being the sportsman of the year if an award in this category was in place. Leading AC Milan to the European championship in May, and then the Club World Cup in December, the 25-year-old Brazilian was always in the right place at the right time. He ended the year perfectly winning the Fifa Player-of-the-Year award (on December 18, 2007). Kaka also won France Football magazine's prestigious Ballon d'Or and World Soccer magazine's World Player of the Year accolade to underline his domination.

South African Jacques Kallis ended another year as the best all-rounder scoring five centuries in seven innings as South Africa concluded the year with series victories over Pakistan and New Zealand after coming from behind to beat India 2-1. Kallis was South Africa's highest run-scorer with 485 runs in the World Cup but was dropped for the Twenty20 World Cup. With an average of 58.20 in Tests and 44.77 in one-dayers, he is certainly the most reliably player in world cricket today.

L - Brian Lara

Lara, one of the most enterprising and entertaining cricketer of our times, finally hung his bat leaving behind a treasure of memories and a mountain of runs. Lara was only one of many famous names to call it quits in cricket this year. The others being Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. But more than the records, Lara will be best remembered for the ease with which he set them. His records include two triple centuries - Don Bradman is the only other batsman to have crossed this mark more than once - and the highest Test score of 400 not out. Lara, who is still the highest Test scorer with 11,953 runs (131 Tests, 232 innings, average: 52.88), also scored an astonishing 20 per cent of his team's runs, a feat surpassed only by Bradman (23 per cent) and George Headley (21 per cent).

M - Muthiah Muralitharan

Muralitharan became the highest wicket-taker in Tests when he went past Shane Warne's mark of 708 at his home ground in Kandy in early December. He remains Sri Lanka's most lethal bowler, in all genres of the game - Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20 - and proved it again claiming 19 wickets in the just-concluded three-Test series against England which the hosts won 1-0. At the World Cup, he claimed 23 wickets to take his one-day tally to 455. That combined with his 723 Test wickets takes his grand tally to 1,178. Part two next week