Bjørn unsupremacy: Despite leading for long periods, Thomas Bjørn eventually finished fourth at the storm-delayed Singapore Open. The Dane started the final day with a one-shot lead, but still had 33 holes to play! A 74 then derailed his bid before a 68 restored parity, although he still finished four behind the winner, Italy’s Matteo Manassero. Anders Hansen, meanwhile, finished seventh equal.
Agger staggered to win: Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has been named the player of the year at the Danish Football Awards for the first time, beating William Kvist, Niki Zimling and Nicklas Bendtner. Agger said he had often wondered if he would win given his luck with injuries. Meanwhile, Brøndby IF’s Theresa Nielsen won the women’s prize, while Brian Laudrup was voted into the Hall of Fame.
Nordic group at Euros: The Danish women’s football side will contest the opening game of Euro 2013 against hosts Sweden in Gothenburg on July 10. The Danes, who were unseeded in the draw, will also face Italy (July 13) and another Nordic side, Finland (July 16), in a bid to make the quarter-finals of the 12-team tournament. Iceland and Norway are also competing, while Germany are the favourites.
Ladies cutting it just fine: The women’s national ice hockey team have defied the odds to win their second Olympic pre-qualification event. The Danes, who are now 6-0 in qualifying, beat hosts Latvia, Austria and Italy and will now face hosts Slovakia, Norway and Japan from February 7-10 with a place at the Olympics at stake. A place in Group B alongside Sweden and Russia awaits the winners at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Co-hosts with Latvia: Denmark is making a joint bid with Latvia to host the two-group, 12-team Ice Hockey World Championship in 2017 in Copenhagen and Riga. The championship, which Latvia hosted in 2006, has always played second fiddle to the Olympics and tends to clash with the Stanley Cup, the sport’s most prestigious club event. Germany and France have also made a joint bid, and a decision is due in May 2013.
No London double for pair: Despite winning their opening two matches at the season-end ATP World Tour Finals, Frederik Løchte Nielsen and his English doubles partner Jonathan Marray were unable to clinch their second London title, losing 4-6, 3-6 to Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez in the semi-finals. There are now doubts whether the Wimbledon champs will ever play together again, as Nielsen wants to concentrate on singles.
