7 moments in 2015 that restored our faith in sports
2015 has been quite a sporting year to remember.
Locally, the South-east Asia (SEA) Games took Singapore by storm and re-ignited the island's passion for sports.
On the global stage, there were upsets and surprises aplenty.
Here are the seven moments from 2015 that put a smile on our faces.
GAMES FEVER HITS SINGAPORE
We kick things off on the biggest sporting events that took place on home soil with the SEA Games and Asean Para Games (APG).
Team Singapore clearly reveled in their homeground advantage as they garnered their best-ever gold medal haul of 84 at the SEA Games and 24 at the APG.
Historic golds were notched in netball and synchronised swimming, but sprinter Shanti Pereira's exploits on the track certainly created waves around the island.
The 19-year-old ended Singapore's 42-year sprinting medal drought with a bronze in the women's 100m sprint before topping that with the 200m gold a day later.
Also, our Epic SEA Games Video certainly put the smiles on people's faces as we crammed our wacky intepretation of 36 sports into 235 seconds.
HOLLY HOLM FLOORS RONDA ROUSEY
Few gave Holly Holm a chance when she was matched up with Ronda Rousey, who had won the last three of her fights in a combined time of 64 seconds.
However, the 34-year-old proved that reputations count for nothing in the ring when she stunned her fellow American at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne during their Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight clash in November.
Fifty-nine seconds into their second round, Holm delivered a devastating left-foot kick to Rousey's head that sealed one of the biggest underdog victories in the sporting world in 2015.
JAPAN STUN SPRINGBOKS AT THE RUGBY WORLD CUP
Speaking about underdogs, who would have thought that rugby minnows Japan would have accomplished what they did at the Rugby World Cup?
The Brave Blossoms put on an impressive show in England, where they narrowly missed out on the quarter-finals despite winning three of their four pool games.
Their most stunning result came against two-time champions South Africa when they came from behind in the dying seconds with a try from Karne Hesketh to win 34-32, recording what is arguably the biggest upset in rugby union history.
IZWAN'S GODLY DISPLAY TO DENY JAPAN
It has not been a great year for local football, but at least goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud made sure there was a huge positive to talk about amid the gloom and doom.
The former LionsXII goalkeeper played a blinder during the Lions' World Cup qualifier against Japan in Saitama which ended 0-0.
Izwan's heroics earned rave reviews among Japanese fans, who called him "god-like" on social media, and earned him a trial with J.League side Matsumoto Yamaga.
While Izwan's move to Japan failed to materialise, the shot-stopper sealed a move to S.League giants Tampines Rovers, where he should have a massive 2016 ahead of him.
STEPHEN CURRY LANDS NBA'S MVP AWARD
Before 2015, Stephen Curry certainly wasn't a name that most would put in the same bracket as the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
However, the point guard made everyone sit up and take notice with his displays for the Golden State Warriors.
After beating James Harden to win the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, Curry went on to play a key role to help the Warriors end their 40-year wait for an NBA title with a 4-2 win over LeBron's Clevaland Cavaliers in the final series.
SCHOOLING WINS HISTORIC BRONZE IN KAZAN
After breaking record after record at the SEA Games, where he won nine gold medals from nine events, Joseph Schooling had his sights set on a bigger target – the World Swimming Championships in Kazan.
The Singapore swim star made his mark in the 100m fly, where he clocked 50.96sec to finish in third place and nabbed the Republic's first-ever medal at the World Championships.
Schooling also set a new Asian record for the 100m fly, a mark which previously stood at 51.00sec set by Kohei Kawamoto in 2009.
THE FBI BUSTS FIFA
It might seem strange to end this list on a more somber note, but 2016 could be something to look forward to when it comes to the Beautiful Game.
There were cheers all around when an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation led to Fifa officials being arrested in Zurich in May for corruption.
Since then, long-standing Fifa supremo Sepp Blatter has been hit with an eight-year ban from all football-related activities after he was found to have transferred more than US$2 million ($2.8m) to Uefa chief Michel Platini, who was also hit with a similar ban.
While it is fair to say that football is in turmoil, it seems that things can finally get better in terms of football governance when 2016 kicks off.
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