(DAY ONE) 10-02-2007

What a day!! What a start to the games! Who would have expected such incomprehensible drama and action? A perfect script written for the days ahead goes to show what kind of competition the teams should expect in the days to come.

When we covered the event last year we were very happy with the turnout, but this year we have no words to describe it, I guess the bug has got to many more companies this year. DIP & Yala Sports have done a stupendous job to see that the participation and competition is much stiffer than what it was last year. If this continues to happen soon it will be one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas in Dubai .

Day one was dedicated to football and billiards. With UAE winning the gulf cup for the first time in the history we expected nerve wrecking matches, which would get our adrenaline pumping, hearts racing and no nails by the end of the day. And what did we get? We got more than asked for, with four of the matches in knockout phase and beyond going into penalty shootouts everyone was on the edge of their seats nearly falling off.

With eight groups of three teams each playing in a round robin format vying for the top spot in their group to reach the knockout phase of the matches the quarterfinals. This year we had many new teams joining us to name a few Nakheel, HP, Showtime, and Aramex who were expected to be ahead in the race to the get a place in the finals.

Everyone's eyes were on last year's winners Arabtec and how they performed this year. They are known for their gutsy performances and sweeping over every game, making it a winning habit throughout. Lets take a look at how they fared against new competition this year.

Football was an unbelievably hard fought tournament with most of the knockout matches reaching penalty shootout. The hot favorites were last year's winners Arabtec but they had to face stiff competition in form of Nakheel, Showtime, HP and Aramex to take the top spot on the podium.

In a fast paced final with ups and downs Arabtec were comfortably leading 2-0 till the final couple of minutes, but Nakheel scripted their own version of the game and scored two goals in the last couple of minutes to take it to the penalty shoot outs. Who would have expected such an end to the finals? No One! Sheer determination, a bit of luck and support for their teammates Nakheel came out on the top after the penalty shoot out. Arabtecs supremacy has been challenged; will they be coming out with a full force to hold on to their overall champion's trophy? Or will one of the teams will topple them to take the numero uno on the podium? Only days to come will tell us.

The final results after day 1

Indoor Soccer
1st Place: Nakheel
2nd Place: Arabtec B
3rd Place: Arabtec A
4th Place: Dubai Investments Park
5th Place: Faisal Jassim Trading Co.
6th Place: Grand Stores

Billiards:
1st Place: Arabtec
2nd Place: Showtime
3rd Place: Food Point &Linen Craft
4th Place : Emirates Building System
5th Place : Faisal Jassim
5th Place : Arabtec
5th Place : Arabtec
5th Place: Emirates Glass

Overall Standings - Day One

(DAY TWO) 13-02-2007

The second day of the Olympiads and everyone was there with a lot of anticipation of whos going to win the volleyball and bowling event? Are there going to be any changes at the top of the table? The questions were answered late at night. The players showed an amazing display of talent, spirit and urge to win.

Volleyball has always been a highly competitive game at the Olympiads, but this year with an astonishing crowd support the display reached a new high. Food point with their cheerleading squad was the highlight of the day's proceedings, every point was cheered for, and pushing the players to give their best, and riding on the wave of success food point did make it to the semifinals. But the most mind-boggling display came from a player from Faisal Jassim - Joseph who literally made the crowd go berserk, amazing serving style, unbelievable spiking ability and audience interaction made him a crowd favorite.

Arabtec fell short this time by not making it to the semifinals, but knowing their ability they are going to come back strong in rest of the events for sure. The final four were Faisal Jassim, Emirates Glass, Grand Stores and Emirates Flight Catering - Food Point & Linen Craft. The final was played between Emirates Glass and Faisal Jassim who looked like winning the volleyball tournament right from start. Emirates Glass major banked on one of their player Satya who had put up an amazing show in all the previous games. Faisal Jassim with Joseph, Mohammed, Last year's player of the tournament Samir, and their most spirited player Saadeh who played with a fractured finger were on a roll throughout their league games .

In the finals Faisal Jassim did what they needed to do, put up their best display and won the match in style with Joseph leading the way with the crowd urging him on to serve in his distinct style, and did he oblige! It was a feast for eyes to watch the players put up such a display, Emirates glass tried to curb the onslaught but fell short by a long way. But full marks to them for reaching the finals and putting up a fantastic show.

The final scores for the day along with the standings are as follows

Indoor Volleyball
1st place : Faisal Jassim Trading Co
2nd Place : Emirates Glass
3rd Place : Emirates Flight Catering - Food Point&Linen Craft
4th Place : Grand Stores
5th Place: Arabtec
6th Place: ETA – Ascon

Bowling (Singles):
1st Place: Nutricia ME&Africa
2nd Place: Arabtec
3rd Place: Faisal Jassim
4th Place: Emirates Biulding System
5th Place: Arabtec
6th Place: Arabtec

Bowling (Doubles):
1st Place: Arabtec
2nd Place: Emirates Biulding System (A)
3rd Place: Emirates Biulding System (C)
4th Place: Faisal Jassim
5th Place: Arabtec
6th Place: Faisal Jassim

Bowling (Team):
1st Place: IKEA
2nd Place: Emirates Biulding System
3rd Place: Hyder Consulting
4th Place: Arabtec
5th Place: Emirates Biulding System
6th Place: Nakheel

Overall Standings - Day Two

(DAY THREE) 17-02-2007

The Olympiads are well underway now with people getting in the groove and a larger picture getting clearer. Day three at the Olympiads was scheduled for Table tennis and swimming. Table tennis saw a huge number of participants for the singles, doubles and the team events with major points to be won for overall classification. Last year Arabtec had set a benchmark in table tennis and one wondered if they could repeat that performance this year.

With new names and new players coming in the picture, it was a day filled with some serious competition and nail biting finishes. As the day progressed the picture started getting clearer on who would reach the final mantle of the competition. ETA Ascon had come in with a couple of players who were conquering hurdles over hurdles to make headway to the finals. They reached the finals in singles as well as doubles and won both the games in style.

Swimming saw participation from quite a few teams and four heats were run in order to reach the final four in freestyle. Team Aramex had come in with the maximum number of swimmers to gather as many points as they could. The water was cold, and a few swimmers were caught short of breath not to mention cramps affecting their performance.

Let's take a look at the standings after the swimming and table tennis tournament.

Swimming Freestyle
1st place : Tayseer Arar Trading
2nd Place: Aramex International
3rd Place: Aramex International
4th Place: Emirates Biulding System
5th Place: Arabtec
6th Place: Emirates Flight Catering Foodpoint&Linen Craft


Table Tennis Singles:
1st Place: ETA-Ascon
2nd Place: Arabtec
3rd Place: Arabtec
4th Place: Burthill
5th Place: Cedars-Jebel Ali Hospital
5th Place: ETA-Ascon
5th Place: Hyder Consulting
5th Place: Faisal Jassim Trading Co


Table Tennis Teams:
1st Place: Arabtec
2nd Place: Grandstores
3rd Place: Arabtec
4th Place: Faisal Jassim Trading Co
5th Place: ACE
6th Place: Emirates Biulding System


Table Tennis Doubles:
1st Place: ETA-Ascon
2nd Place: Arabtec
3rd Place: Arabtec
4th Place: Arabtec
5th Place: Faisal Jassim Trading Co
6th Place: ACE

Overall Standings - Day Three

(DAY FOUR) 20-02-2007

Basketball, a game that gives you the adrenaline rush, requires speed, energy and skill. 20th Feb. 2007 , the day for basketball tournament at DIP Olympiads, who would have expected such massive response from the participants, it was a gala event with players showcasing their skills and trying to make it to the final four.

Most of the major names had made it a point to be there at the tournament Showtime, Arabtec, Al Manal, Aramex, Emirates flight catering, EBS, Faisal Jassim and many more vying for the top spot. When its basketball tempers are bound to fly around, altercations with the referee do happen, and it happened here as well. A few teams arabtec, aramex and Al Manal were not happy with the referee's decision on a few occasions, but then in the name of undying spirit of the game they did carry on. On the other hand Emirates flight catering & Showtime were a complete picture of calm and composed unit, taking every decision in their stride, making it a point that they understood the referee has a final say. Showtime lost a point at a crucial stage after one such altercation, which may have cost them the match and the position in final four. The organizer would like to thank the team for the understanding and spirit they showed throughout.

The Showtime Team:
Gordon Finlamson
Mutammin Suareef
Oanny Bottoms
Emad Morcos
David Uanson
Abdul Hafidh Muidos
Erwa Uorani
Waleed Bajahnoun
Mahmoud Rashid

A special vote of thanks to the referees who withstood the immense pressure and carried on till the end being unbiased and correct throughout.

The final four were the two teams from emirates flight catering, Arabtec and Amana Steel. Arabtec last year's winner and other two were new entrants this year. But surprise not to take away anything from Amana steel and Arabtec the final was played between the two teams of Emirates Flight Catering who somehow have been the dark horses of the tournament.

A perfect way to describe the players In Emirates flight catering barring a few- Dynamites in small packages. For a minute everyone must have thought basketball players have to be 6 ft. plus is a myth. They dint match the height but they covered it up with their skill and speed. Two players who stood out throughout the matches were Richard and Rufeil who ended up being on the runners-up team. The way Emirates flight catering has played in this Olympiad, if they come up a bit more organized next year they should surely be able to rub shoulders with the other teams for the top position.

Results

Indoor Basketball
1st Place : Emirates Flight Catering - Foodpoint & Linen Craft
2nd Place : Emirates Flight Catering - Foodpoint & Linen Craft
3rd Place : Amana Steel
4th Place : Arabtec
5th Place : Arabtec
6th Place: Aramex International

Overall Standing - Day Four

(DAY FIVE) 24-02-2007

The competition is heating up! Though Arabtec is way ahead in overall standings the run for the first and second runners up is getting interesting, after a new day the positions keep on changing and in the current situation Food point has made it a point to give the other competitors a run for their money, proving to be the dark horse of the tournament.

The most impressive feature of Food Point has been the women participating. Badminton was no exception and they came in with a strong team of three girls who weathered the storm and took up the first and second place to grab more points for their team. As a result they have taken up the second place in overall standings over EBS by a thin margin of two points. In days to come if they continue in same fashion and spirit they will definitely make it in the final standings.

The men's competition was a real tough one with exceptionally high number of entries, like last year Aswan and EBS came in with full force but they had a new competitor in ETA - Ascon and cedars to deal with this year. Hyder consulting tried their bit to make life difficult for them but it was a tough ask.

ETA- Ascon made an impact by winning the men's singles and the doubles title with their players surpassing the challenge from Aswan , EBS, Cedars and Hyder consulting. Aswan ended up taking second and the third spot in the singles and doubles while EBS took the second position in team's event. Aswan made it a point by winning the team event for their company and EBS getting the second spot.

The squash tournament saw participation from usual teams, Arabtec, Metrofile and new entrants Showtime and IKEA along with Union National Bank. The tournament was won by Hossam Mohamed from Union National Bank and Arun Duggal from Showtime and Sidharth Bhide from IKEA taking the second and third place respectively. Again what was noticeable was a women participant who competed against the men and gave a commendable performance. The highlight of the tournament so far had been women participating throughout; let's keep a watch on the days to come if the trend continues .

Badminton Singles (Ladies)
1st Place: Johanna Llasos (Emirates Flight Catering - Food point & Linen Craft)
2nd Place : Quennie Sanchez (Emirates Flight Catering - Food point & Linen Craft)
3rd Place : Adelfa Tacdoro ( AIGCO)
4th Place : Vasana Amarasekara (AIGCO)
5th Place: Cedars - Jebel Ali Hospital

Badminton Singles (Men)
1st Place : Syed Masud Javed (ETA-Ascon)
2nd Place : D.sridhar (Aswan International Group)
3rd Place : Samson Vincent (Aswan International Group)
4th Place : Sunoj Nair ( Cedars-Jebel Ali Hospital )
5th Place : Hyder Consulting
5th Place : Emirates Building Systems
5th Place: ETA-Ascon
5th Place: Emirates Building Systems

Badminton Doubles (Men)
1st Place : Javed /Rangasai/Iqbal Hussien (ETA Ascon)
2nd Place : D.sridhar/Prashant (Aswan International Group)
3rd Place : Samson/Ranjith Joseph (Aswan International Group)
4th Place : Kiran Kumar / Sayonna (Aswan International Group)
5th Place : Emirates Building Systems
5th Place: Mouchel Parkman
5th Place: AIGCO

Badminton Teams (Men)
1st Place : Kiran Kumar - Ranjith C- D.sreedhar (Aswan International Group)
2nd Place: Harison - Mansoor - Anil George ( Emirates Building Systems)
3rd Place : Shibu - Bejoy - Altaf (Cedars - Jebel Ali Hospital )
4th Place : Qamar Iqbal (Grand Stores)
5th Place : Hyder Consulting

Squas
1st Place : Hossam Mohamed (Union National Bank)
2nd Place : Arun Duggal (Showtime)
3rd Place : Siddarth Y Bhide (IKEA)
4th Place: Jon Blaek (Metrofile ME)

Overall Standing - Day Five

(DAY SIX) 27-02-2007

With the world cup round the corner this was a perfect set up for the cricket matches. Thought not he same 50 over version this was interesting and real fast paced 6 a side 6 over games knockout tournament. It got a stupendous response with over 30 teams participating and wanting to prove their mettle.

It was always going to be a difficult prospect with different rules and the extremely fast action, most of the teams got knocked out even before they got a hang of the rules. A few others like EBS, IKEA and grand stores adapted well and made it towards the final rounds of the tournament.

Arabtec came in with two teams as usual, they were the last years champions and were smarting a bit that they haven't won any major game this year. They had their eyes set on the target right from the word go and were decimating the opposition coming in way. From the way they were playing it was obvious one of the spots in the finals had been booked.

The other spot was up for grabs and one saw intense competition to take it between rests of the teams. Ikea was slow to start and were groping around to understand the game, but the held their nerves and kept on winning games. Grand stores got it right from the word go and kept on pushing ahead till the semifinals. EBS was at relative ease as they had played last year at the same venue.

The final four set up the stage for an exciting game to come forth. The game between IKEA and Grand Stores was fiercely fought for a position in the finals. It was a game of ups and down swinging both ways and finally ended up on leveled scores. Grand stores won on the ruling of pairs scoring higher runs. IKEA did appeal against it but finally took it in a sporting manner, which has been a feature of the Olympiads. Arabtec defeated EBS to make it to the finals as predicted.

The stage was set for the finals between Arabtec and Grand stores Arabtec winning it easily till the finals, and Grand stores fighting their way up improving their game match by match. It was a well played match but the professionalism and resolve of Arabtec took them through with a comfortable margin.

Indoor Cricket
1st Place : Arabtec
2nd Place : Grand Stores
3rd Place: IKEA
4th Place: Emirates Building Systems

Overall Standing - Day Six

(DAY SEVEN) 2-03-2007

We move ahead to the final stages of the Olympiads, a few more events to compete for and win valuable points for your organization. Arabtec seems to be moving ahead without any trouble, sure of taking the coveted top position. But the way things are proceedings it seems like it will go down to the final day to decide who is going to be the runner up.

Tennis saw a few new faces and companies participating to get a few points under their belt. EBS & Faisal Jassim last year's contenders had to sweat it out with players from Wrigleys, Showtime, Arabtec, Cedars and a few more. Last years top contenders were missing this year, but a pool of real talented people with contrasting style made up for their absence.

The competition was played over three categories - singles, doubles and the team event, so points were up for grabs and teams tried to make the most of it. The highlight of the tournament has been participation by women players and tennis was no exception, Audrey from Wrigleys put up a strong show along with her partner Mehraban in the doubles. Most of the times it was a contest between aggressive playing style against calculated slow game, a couple of times aggressive players won but the final winner was a player who showed tremendous will power and grit to get past the competition - Alex from Cedars Jebel Ali Hospital.

Adam from Showtime was looking a promising prospect till he lost in the semifinals to Onayd from Arabtec.Mehraban from wrigleys looked most likely to win the singles but he couldn't get past Alex. Onayd along with his partner Wilson won the doubles crown by defeating Samir and Edwardo from Faisal Jassim, but I guess playing too many games in a short span of time took its toll and he had to retire from the singles final.

Faisal Jassim Won the team event while Arabtec came in second.

Results

Tennis Singles:
1st Place : Alex ( Cedars Jebel Ali Hospital )
2nd Place : Onayd (Arabtec)
3rd Place : Mehraban (Wriegly)
4th Place: Adam (Showtime)

Tennis Doubles:
1st Place : Onayd/Wilson (Arabtec)
2nd Place : Samir Ghoson/Edwardo (Faisal Jassim Trading Co
3rd Place : Mehraban/Audrey (Wriegly)
4th Place : Butch/Doming (Arabtec)

Tennis Teams:
1st Place : Faisal Jassim Trading Co
2nd Place: Arabtec

Overall Standing - Day Seven

(DAY EIGHT) 3-03-2007

Finally after the indoor games it was time to move outdoors and that too in great style, it was time for beach volleyball and beach soccer at a beautiful venue- The Jebel Ali Golf resort. A beautiful sunny day, a Red Bull tent, quite breeze, and shade by the sides a perfect setup for the games with some fun involved.

Everyone was in an upbeat mood and shades were a compulsory accessory for the day. As opposed to normal volleyball this tournament was played with lesser number of players in each team, but fun multiplied many times over. People were not wary of jumping and diving around with the sand to cushion their fall. This game saw the highest participation from women players, who matched the boys in terms of skills and power, and a team of women even managed to defeat a couple of teams. Most of the teams opted to participate with mixed combination of boys and girls.

With about 12 teams in four groups the initial matches were played in round robin format before going to the semifinals and finals. Arabtec, Showtime, Wrigleys, Aramex, Hyder Consulting, Amana steel, Food point Faisal Jassim all were present in full force to give their best and win points to get them in the top three in the final standings.

The final was played between food point and Faisal Jassim which Faisal Jassim won comfortably courtesy Joseph and company as it happened in indoor volleyball. Arabtec reached the semifinals but were not able to make it to the finals.

As in the beach soccer, right from the start it looked like it was going to be Showtime Nakheel finals. Nakheel had made their mark in the indoor soccer winning under pressure to take the top spot and they ensured they had their best team to compete here as well. Showtime looked good to reach the finals winning their games on the way with comfortable ease. In the finals it was going to be a game of nerves and who handled the pressure best. It eventually turned out to be a battle of titans with Nakheel leading 2-0 and Showtime coming back to score a goal. Showtime tried their best but Nakheel played better and won the finals.

Beach Volleyball:
1st Place : Faisal Jassim Trading Co
2nd Place : Emirates Flight Catering Food Point & Linen Craft
3rd Place : Arabtec
4th Place: Showtime

Beach Soccer:
1st Place : Nakheel
2nd Place : Showtime
3rd Place: Hyder Consulting
4th Place : Nakheel

Overall Standing - Day Eight

(DAY NINE) 6-03-2007

The Final event of the DIP Olympiads 2007, and what a way to end it, with a rush of adrenaline, fast paced action and roaring machines - Go karting! The racing was set in the evening at Emirates karting club near Jebel Ali Golf resort, a quite yet nice venue for companies to try and accelerate their teams to victory.

It was in a format of three groups and depending on the size of the group the best contenders were chosen for the final race. Most of the drivers seemed to have handled the karts before, but a few novices had a real hard time in getting their act together and trying to stay on the track.

Every driver was given a 5 minutes practice time before the actual heat which helped them understand and get used to the circuit. A few teams stood out by distance in their driving abilities from the other competitors and looked clear winners right from the start. Van Oord, three drivers with their own racing overalls, dressed in white and the men on the mission for the evening. Amana steel and Nutricia ME & Africa were the other teams who had ample of talent to make it through to the finals and give all they had to win a spot for their company.

The first race took place in some natural light, but the final two heats were under artificial lights and did create a few problems for drivers with visibility deteriorating and saw a few cases of karts in the barricades or driving off the track. The final got a bit delayed because of the confusion who has made it to the last race and who has not. Once sorted out the race got underway with all the strong contenders ready to breathe down their competitors necks to make it to the podium.

Van Oord without a single fault proved their supremacy on the circuit; Amana steel and Nutricia tried their best to catch them but no avail. The men in white zoomed to victory with a combination of some seriously fast driving, strategy and coordination between them.

But overall it was a nice way to end the event, with people enjoying themselves in the karts, which was a new experience for a few.

Result
1st Place : Van Oord
2nd Place : Amana Steel
3rd Place : Nutricia ME & Africa
4th Place : Amana Steel
5th Place : Amana Steel
6th Place : Emirates Building Systems

The Final Overall Standing of the Olympiads: