There's so much happening in the world of sports these days that it is hard to sum up even the major events that took place from the start of this year till the end in this short space.

This is the least that could be written about sports in 2009. We will start off with the reason why 2009 proved to be a vital year for Pakistan in sports. Pakistan cricket team went on to win the second Twenty20 World Cup which was held in England in June this year.

Pakistan who lost the final of the inaugural event in South Africa two years ago went one step ahead to clinch the championship by beating Sri Lanka comprehensively in the final. This was the first major cricket title that came to Pakistan since the famous World Cup triumph in 1992.

There were other notable performances from Pakistan such as Younus Khan's 313 in Karachi Test against the touring Sri Lankan team in February. Younus' triple ton is only the third score of 300 plus by a Pakistani in Test cricket history – Hanif Muhammad (337) and Inzamam (329) being the other two.

That tour of Sri Lanka will always be remembered but for all the wrong reasons, perhaps. The March 3 attack on Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, when the players were on their way to the ground brought an abrupt and disastrous ending to the tour and to cricket in Pakistan for the time being at least.

The cross border tension meant there was no IPL participation for Pakistan cricketers this time around, and that was not all, Pakistan was deprived from hosting the cricket World Cup in 2011.

The Indian Premier League was also shifted to South Africa and proved to be a success with the Deccan Chargers claiming the title, but, Pakistan's World Cup win a month later overshadowed that. The T20 World Cup was followed by the Ashes Series. England beat the Aussies 2-1 in the 5-match rubber to reclaim the title. Australian Captain Ricky Ponting crossed the 11000-run mark in Test cricket during the first Ashes Test.

The Australian team, however, showed that they were not weakened by the departure of some of their best players when they won the Champions Trophy in South Africa in September this year. Australia's emerging fast bowler Mitchell Johnson also won the ICC Player of the Year 2009 award. Pakistan's Aleem Dar took the Umpire of the Year award. On August 16, 2009 Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry created history when he equaled Saeed Anwer's record of 194 in ODI cricket. Coventry was playing against Bangladesh. On November 20, 2009 Sachin Tendulkar passed 30000-run mark in international cricket (Tests/ODIs). The inaugural Champions League T20 event was staged in India in September/October this year.

While, cricket made all the headlines in South Asia, the Far East was busy worshipping a midget, named Manny Pacquiao, also known as the Pac-Man. Pacquiao became the first boxer to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions. But Pac-Man's fans will remember this year more for his triumph against England's Ricky Hatton in the bout billed as 'The Battle of the East and West'.

In Europe, meanwhile, football was the 'in' thing, again! The European football season 2008-09 ended in May with Barcelona beating Manchester United to win the European Champions League title. Shakhtar Donetsk won the UEFA Cup when they beat Werder Bremen in Istanbul by two goals to one.

On the domestic front however, Manchester United went on to win their 18th league title by winning the 2008-09 English Premier League. Barcelona became the undisputed kings of Spain when they won La Liga, and Inter Milan took the Italian Serie A title.

On the international front Brazil won the Confederations Cup in South Africa when they beat the United States 3-2. Off the field, football proved even more exciting as Real Madrid shattered all records to recruit Manchester United's prized asset, Cristiano Ronaldo, for a mammoth fee of 80 million pounds! Ronaldo joined Kaka, Benzema, Alonso and others as the second episode of Los Galacticos started at the Bernabeu under their President Florentino Pérez. The 2009 Ballon d'Or (European Player of the Year) went to the lightning winger of Barcelona, Lionel Messi.

Talking of lightning, one thing that comes to my mind is Usain Bolt also known as lightning Bolt. The phenomenal athlete from Jamaica smashed his world records that he set in the memorable 2008 Beijing Olympics for 100m and 200m. The maestro achieved this feat at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics at Olympiastadion, Berlin and carved his name in history as one of the finest athletes of all time. For his tremendous achievements on the track, he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award. He lowered the 100m mark to 9.58 seconds and the 200m record now sits pretty at 19.19. Bolt took the field at the famous Olympiastadion in Berlin that is synonymous with Jesse Owens, and overshadowed the feat of the legendary American with his breathtaking runs in the short distance races. 'Insane' Bolt, as some people call him is certainly the man of the moment, he is just phenomenal to watch and is a one in a generation athlete.

The tennis season starts with the Australian Open, and this year also there was no surprise package at the first Grand Slam of the year. Spain's Rafael Nadal and Switzerland's Roger Federer came face to face. Nadal beat Federer to clinch the Australian Open. Serena Williams defeated Dinara Safina to win the women's title.

It looked like the sun was setting on FedEx's (Roger Federer) career, but, he had other plans. Federer came to France in May for the French Open, the only Grand Slam missing from his illustrious career achievements till then; and when Nadal was knocked out in the first round, Federer was provided the chance of a life time to win his first ever French Open title, which he did by beating Robin Soderling in the final at Roland Garros. Dinara Safina, sister of former world no. 1 Marat Safin, lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final of the second Grand Slam of the year.

A month later Federer took his Grand Slam tally to fifteen when he beat America's Andy Roddick in an epic final at Wimbledon. This was also Federer's sixth Wimbledon title. Serena Williams clinched her second Grand Slam of the year by trouncing elder sister Venus in the final.

Federer had hit top gear by then and there was nothing in sight that could stop the Swiss maestro from winning the last Grand Slam of the Year, the US Open. But, surprisingly Federer lost in the final of the US Open to a young Argentinean named Juan Martin Del Potro. Kim Clijsters of Belgium returned to tennis in style by winning the US Open women's title against Caroline Wozniacki.

For tennis fans in Pakistan, 2009 turned out to be a great year as our very own Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi partnered up with James Cerretani of United States to defeat world no.1 Roger Federer and his partner Marco Chiudinelli at the Basel Open Doubles on November 3.

In Formula One car racing, Britain's Jenson Button took the 2009 driver's championship and his team Brawn-Mercedes won the constructor's championship. It was, however, not a very good season for Formula One, with problems and conflicts emerging off the field on a regular basis.

A lot happened on the other side of the Atlantic as well, with the New York Yankees shifting to their new stadium and also winning their 27th World Series championship by beating Philadelphia Phillies 4 games to 2. Hideki Matsui is named World Series' Most Valuable Player. The flamboyant Kobe Bryant won the Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player) as his team the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 4-1 in the NBA Championships. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup by beating the Detroit Red Wings 4 games to 3. Evgeni Malkin took the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Besides, the World Aquatics Championships were held at Rome this year. The World Gymnastics Championships were held in London and the 2009 World Men's Handball Championship saw France beating Croatia 24-19 in the final.

Meanwhile, despite the controversies surrounding the richest sportsman in the world, Tiger Woods remained the top golfer.

The year 2009 saw some of the finest sporting heroes unfold their talents on the pitch, on the fields, on the tracks and on the courts for their fans to feast upon. However, there's only one high point as far as our national game is concerned; Pakistan qualified for the Hockey World Cup by winning the qualifying tournament, but, failed to make it to the next Champions Trophy after losing in the final against New Zealand last week.