Yearender: Long Waits End Across Global Sport

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 30 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- World sport was this year marked by major title breakthroughs and tightly contested championship finishes, reported Xinhua. Here are some of the key moments:

Football: PSG breakthrough and Club World Cup    Club football in 2025 saw Paris Saint-Germain finally claim the European crown, while Chelsea triumphed at the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.    PSG clinched its first UEFA Champions League title by overwhelming Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich. The result delivered the silverware the French club had craved since the start of the Qatar-backed era in 2011.    Under coach Luis Enrique, PSG moved away from a reliance on high-profile individual stars, building a team that combined tactical discipline with youthful exuberance. Teenage winger Desire Doue was among the standout performers in the final with two goals and an assist.    The new-look FIFA Club World Cup ended with Chelsea lifting the trophy after a 3-0 win over PSG in the final in New Jersey. Cole Palmer scored twice and added an assist, capping a season in which he established himself as one of Chelsea's most decisive players.    Brazilian clubs made a strong collective showing at the tournament, with Botafogo, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense all reaching the knockout stage.    Argentina's representatives struggled by contrast, as Boca Juniors and River Plate exited early, highlighting a gap between the country's dominant national team and its leading clubs.

   Tennis: A rivalry for the ages    Men's tennis in 2025 continued a transition that now appears firmly settled at the top of the sport. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shared the biggest titles and the world No. 1 ranking throughout the season, turning their rivalry into the defining storyline of the year.    They met six times on the ATP Tour, with Alcaraz holding a 4-2 edge. Each won two Grand Slam titles in 2025, extending a run in which they have claimed the last eight men's singles majors dating back to the 2024 Australian Open.    Their rise confirmed a generational shift following the retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, with Novak Djokovic remaining the only leading figure from the previous era still competing at the top level.    By the end of the season, the focus had shifted to how Alcaraz and Sinner would shape the sport rather than whether they were ready to do so.

   Formula One: Thrilling finale    Formula One delivered one of its most competitive seasons in years, with the drivers' championship going down to the final race in Abu Dhabi.    Briton Lando Norris secured his first world title after a three-way battle with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.    Norris won seven races and secured 18 podium finishes, keeping his composure in the tense final weeks.    The title was McLaren's first drivers' championship since Lewis Hamilton won in 2008, marking a milestone for a team that had spent much of the previous decade rebuilding.

   NBA: Oklahoma City ends wait    The NBA's defining story of 2025 was the rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder from contender to champion.    The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 4-3 in the NBA Finals to secure the franchise's first championship since relocating from Seattle in 2008.    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated the 2024-25 season with a league-high average of 32.7 points per game as he won both the regular-season MVP and Finals MVP awards.    The title capped a season of sustained dominance for Oklahoma City, which finished the regular season 68-14, tied for the fifth-most wins in a single NBA season.

   Athletics: Duplantis caps record-breaking year    Armand Duplantis dominated the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, clearing a pole vault world record of 6.30 meters to cement his position at the top of the sport heading toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.    Over the course of 2025, the 26-year-old broke the world record four times across indoor and outdoor competitions.    Beyond Duplantis, the championships delivered a host of standout moments, including Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson's Jamaican one-two finish in the men's 100 meters, a historic marathon gold for Tanzania's Alphonce Felix Simbu, and a sprint treble by U.S. athlete Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.    Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the women's 400 meters in the second-fastest time in history, also a new championship record, while Kenya's Beatrice Chebet completed another 5,000m-10,000m double after the 2024 Paris Olympics.

   Cricket: Title droughts end. Cricket in 2025 produced two world championship wins that had been a long time coming. South Africa claimed the ICC World Test Championship at Lord's, defeating defending champion Australia in the final.    It was the Proteas' first major ICC men's title since they lifted the Champions Trophy in 1998. The team was anchored by Aiden Markram's fourth-innings century, with captain Temba Bavuma contributing a composed 66 to end a long run of near misses in major tournaments.    In the women's game, India claimed its first ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title on home soil, defeating South Africa in the final in Navi Mumbai. India posted a competitive total before Deepti Sharma led the bowling effort to close out the match.    Reigning champion Australia was eliminated in the semifinals, reinforcing the depth of competition at the top of the women's game.

--BERNAMA-XINHUA