Sports news and briefs

Ben Hamilton

May 31, 2012 - 09:23

Danes slain in semis - Bendtner Bundesliga bound - Hands up for Ireland - Woz that okay, coach? - Historic for two reasons - Funny old futsal

Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen lost to South Korea in the semis of the biennial Thomas Cup. (Photo: Scanpix).

The national team lost 1-3 to South Korea in the semis of the biennial Thomas Cup, badminton’s world men’s team championship. World number seven Lee Hyun-Il came from a set down to beat Peter Gade in the first match, Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen drew the tie level, before two more Korean wins saw them through to the final, where they were easily beaten by hosts China.

For the second year in succession, various media outlets are suggesting that Nicklas Bendtner will swap the English Premier League for the German Bundesliga in the summer – with Borussia Dortmund the most likely destination. I have talked to other clubs,” the Arsenal player, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, told media. “But I have told all the clubs that I want to wait until after Euro 2012.”

The Irish Olympic Handball Association (IOHA) has signed a deal with its Danish counterpart for its staff to observe how the game is coached here, which will enable them to scout for players! “We are very keen to get a message out to players living in Denmark who may qualify to play for Ireland by right of birth, parentage or grandparents,” Lúcás Ó’Ceallacháin, the IOHA general manager, told danskirsk.dk.

Caroline Wozniacki over the weekend revealed she had appointed Thomas Johanson as her new coach, ahead of beating Greece's Eleni Daniilidou 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday. However, it is believed the Swede, who won the 2002 Australian Open (Scandinavia's last grand slam triumph), won't travel with the Dane and will just coach her when she is at home in Monaco.

Danish interest in this year’s Stanley Cup has ended following the elimination of Mikkel Bødker’s Phoenix Coyotes by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth game of the Western Conference play-offs. A 4-3 overtime win for the Kings sealed a 4-1 triumph. Bødker, 22, ended the season with 32 points (15 goals and 17 assists), including eight points (four and four) in 16 games in the play-offs.

People say football’s a funny game, but on the evidence of Denmark’s futsal friendlies against England over the weekend, the smaller format is a laugh riot. Denmark beat England 5-1 on Friday, but then lost 3-0 a day later. Both new to the sport, England had 31 shots to Denmark’s 14 in the first game, but could not live with the Danes’ counter-attacking punch – a tactical problem they corrected in the next game.