Sport
Sport news in brief (Dec 7-13)
This article is more than 12 years old.
Goody-bady start: The men’s national side are hanging on at the Kabaddi World Cup after a win and a draw in their opening two games. They followed an opening 25-58 defeat to England on Saturday with a 61-21 defeat of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Their final group game is against favourites and hosts India. The slightly more fancied women’s team, meanwhile, were due to begin their campaign on Thursday against hosts India.
D-day next week for Riis: Ahead of a decision next Monday that will decide whether Saxo-Tinkoff will compete in the UCI World Tour in 2013, Peder Pedersen, the Danish representative at the UCI, has said the actions of its manager Bjarne Riis have been “very damaging to the sport and its credibility”. Some 17 teams have been granted licences for 2013, leaving Saxo-Tinkoff vying with Argos-Shimano for the remaining place.
Michael’s swanning it: Michael Laudrup on Saturday led Swansea City to their biggest ever Premier League scalp. A brace by Michu saw them win 2-0 at Arsenal – their first away against one of England’s big five. It was their third away win of the campaign – just one less than the four it managed last season – and they are now seventh. Fan sites were awash with praise, with one calling Laudrup “the best Danish export since Carlsberg”.
FCK pulling away: Ahead of the start of the Superliga’s three-month break next Monday FC Copenhagen lead the table by nine points from last season’s champs FC Nordsjælland. Until recently, FCK’s lead was a slender one, but five wins in a row have seen them pull away from rivals AaB, who have lost three of their last five to slip to third. Brøndby, meanwhile, are last, but only three points adrift of safety.
An unwelcome full house: Theo Jorgensen, a pro poker player, was left in dire straits on Sunday when he was shot three times in the leg by robbers at his home who thought he would be flush with winnings. The 40-year-old was confronted by three English-speaking men who stole a reported 35,000 kroner. “I know that the outsiders may have a mistaken idea of how much cash I have in my home,” he later wrote on Facebook from hospital.
“I need a gay hero”: While Manchester United keeper Anders Lindegaard received flak for his performance in his team’s 4-3 win at Reading on Saturday, his profile off the pitch is rising thanks to his blog. Last week he made a call for a “gay hero” to come out, arguing that while “the players would not have a problem”, many “fans are stuck in a time of intolerance”, which would make it a difficult step befitting of a hero.