Hardly a step-up for Thorup

Jess Thorup, the current coach of Superliga Club Esbjerg fB, which he guided to promotion last year after just one season in charge, has announced his decision to quit at the end of the season to replace Morten Wieghorst as manager of the under-21s. The 43-year-old, who will assume the reins in June, played club football in Germany, Austria and Norway, but never won a national call-up.

Arizona dream quashed

Thorbjørn Olesen failed to deliver on recent form, bowing out of the World Match Play Championship in the second round in Arizona. A day after seeing off Jamie Donaldsen 3&2, he lost by the same margin to South Africa’s Tim Clark. Thomas Bjørn, meanwhile, who like Olesen qualified courtesy of being one of the world’s top 64 golfers, lost 3&2 to Sweden’s Peter Hanson in the first round.

Jannik’s jab punished

One of Denmark’s NHL stars, Vancouver Canucks forward Jannik Hansen, has been widely condemned for smashing his forearm into the back of Marian Hossa’s head – an attack that concussed the Slovakian and earned Hansen a two-minute penalty, a $7,300 fine and a one-game ban. Meanwhile, the Canucks are rumoured to be considering a bid for another Dane, Nicklas Jensen. 

Is defeat in omnium an ominous sign?

There was disappointment for Olympic omnium champion Lasse Norman Hansen in the Track Cycling World Championships in Belarus on Saturday. Heading into the second day, Hansen trailed the Australian defending champion Glenn O’Shea by three points, but despite overhauling him on Saturday, he was passed by another Antipodean, New Zealand’s Aaron Gate, who won two of the three events to claim gold, with Hansen second, three points behind. 

In total, Hansen finished second in four of the events, but was undone by sixth and seventh-place finishes in the scratch and eliminator races. Meanwhile, the flying Dane also picked up a bronze in the men’s pursuit – along with Casper von Folsach, Mathias Møllerand and Rasmus Quaade a result that saw Denmark finish 15th in the medal table. 

Date with Diego in Dubai

Caroline Wozniacki has a new fan: Argentine football legend Diego Maradona. The unlikely pair caught up at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, which the Dane bowed out of in the semi-finals, losing to Petra Kvitova, her fifth loss in eight against the Czech. “She came to me to say hello,” Maradona told Sport 360. “But actually it was me who wanted to come and say hello to her.”