The Nation Sports Desk looks back on some of the international sports events in 2006 that brought fame and glory to the Kingdom.

The first part of the review features six memorable events. The top eight will be featured tomorrow.

Celebrate the day

Although Thailand has never made it to the World Cup finals, most Thais still get caught up

in football fever every four

years. Bleary-eyed fans glued to their television sets and cheering their favourite teams is a common sight during the one-month extravaganza. The theme song "Celebrate the Day" echoed in every heart.

World Cup 2006 certainly

went down as one of the most

spectacular editions, if not the best, particularly the final be-tween France and Italy, which

was full of drama - the famous head-butt and the penalty shoot-out - making it a compelling

event.

The scene many remember is not Fabio Grosso's winning penalty, which sparked a wild celebration among the Italians in the stadium, but a moment of madness that seemed to shock the whole world when Zinedine Zidane thrust his head into Marco Materazzi's chest. It was the worst possible end to the Frenchman's glittering career.

Golden year for golf

It was the dawn of a new era

for Thai golf. Young players

Prom Meesawat and Chinarat Phadungsil showed their prodigious talent by winning on the international scene. Prom claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory in the SK Telecom Open in South Korea while Chinarat sealed his first trophy as a professional

golfer by winning the Crowne Plaza Open in China. The 18-year-old had earlier won the 2005 Double A International Open as an amateur.

Established star Thongchai Jaidee had a season to remember with his first appearance in the Masters at the Augusta Nationals. He also became the first Thai golfer in 35 years to contest all the four Majors. The former paratrooper also managed to maintain his proud record of winning at least one title every season since 2000 with a victory on home soil in the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia.

Mission Impossible

Gas-powered Qatar produced what will go down as the best

ever Asian Games in its 55-year history. The success has put the sheikhdom in the international spotlight and enhanced its

chances of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, which it plans to bid for.

Thailand sent a strong 489-member delegation to the Games and was expecting to bag around 15-17 gold medals. They were just short of the target. After 15 days of sheer hard work, the Thai athletes captured 13 gold, 15 silver and 26 bronze medals to finish fifth overall.

China, using the Doha Asiad as a curtain-raiser for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, retained the overall crown with a total haul of 316 medals, 165 of them gold. South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan finished second, third and fourth respectively.

Several local sports asso-

ciations, including taekwondo, windsurfing and amateur box-

ing, were a big letdown. Boast-

ing six promising stars, includ-

ing three world champions in Yaowapa Burapolchai, Rapatkorn Prasopsuk and Patiwat Thongsalab, the Taekwondo Association of Thailand had to be content with three silver and two bronze. Three gold medals were expected from the Thai boxers,

but only Athens Olympic hero

and notorious playboy Manus Boonjumnong emerged top in his class.

In the previous Games in Busan, South Korea, four years ago, the Thai contingent returned with 43 medals, 14 of them gold, and an overall sixth-place.

Beyond Expectation

The Fespic (Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled) Games, the biggest multi-sports and multi-disability event for athletes with disabilities in Asia and Oceania, and the second largest Games in the world, after the Paralympic Games, were held from November 25 to December 1 in Kuala Lumpur.

Around 4,000 athletes and officials from 46 countries took part. A total of 910 gold, 910 silver and 1,025 bronze medals were on offer in 19 sporting events. Thai disabled athletes took part in only 13 disciplines but managed to bring home a magnificent 61 gold, 43 silver and 48 bronze medals to finish a distant second behind China (198 gold).

The results were beyond their expectations with the official target pruned to 50 gold. Before their departure for the one-week tournament, they were hoping to finish among the top three in the medals standings. Swimmer Aphiwat Anghiran emerged as the Games' most successful athlete with five gold.

World Champions

Thai athletes performed superbly in several major com-petitions and in particular

the World Championships. Bodybuilder Sitthi Charoenrith retained his world 80kg title by stunning the judges and spectators alike with his muscular

frame during the World Bodybuilding Championships

in the Czech Republic. Plucky Wandee Kameaim emerged as

the lone gold medallist in the World Weightlifting Cham-

pionships in Dominican Republic. Word champion Pawina Thongsuk skipped the world meet and instead trained intensively for the Asian Games in Doha.

Three taekwondo exponents

- lightweight Patiwat Thong-salab, finweight Yaowapa Burapolchai and heavyweight Rapatkorn Prasobsuk won gold medals in the Word Team Taekwondo Championships at Hua Mark Indoor Stadium.

Hard-hitting Pongsaklek Krating-daeng Gym, 29, who hails from Nakhon Ratchasima, claimed a well-deserved un-

animous decision over No 1

contender Monelise "Show-

time" Myekeni of South Africa in his 16th World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight title defence.

He became the first boxer

to be inducted into the WBC

Hall of Fame while still holding his title.

Run for Glory

The Athletic Association of Thailand received plenty of credit during the year due to its athletes' remarkable success in several major competitions.

The awesome foursome of Sangwan Jaksunin, Orranut Klomdee, Juthamas Thaworn-charoen and Nongnuch Sanrat retained their 4x100m relay

crown in the Asian Championships in Inchoen, South Korea, giving them a chance to represent Asia against the world's best in the IAAF World Cup in Athens last September. The women's quartet produced their best time of 44.27 sec in the meet to finish sixth among nine teams.

Nongnuch, Sangwan and Orranut also made their mark at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Pattaya, making it a 1-2-3 finish in the women's 60m. For Nongnuch, it was a repeat feat as she had won the same event at last year's Asian Indoor Games.

The impressive foursome of Wachara Sondee, Seksan Wongsala, Ekkachai Janthana and Sitthichai Suwornprateep retained Thailand's crown in the men's 4x100m relay at the Asian Games in Doha after beating hot favourites Japan in a photo finish with a time of 39.21 sec.

Marathoner Boonchu Chandecha, who made history by winning a gold in the SEA Games in Manila last year, became the first Thai ever to win the Khon Kaen International Marathon, stunning former three-time Bangkok Marathon champion and record-holder Michael Mukoma of Kenya.