1. Lee Westwood completed yet another victory in the Thailand Golf Championship, shooting a 3-under 69 in windy conditions to beat Charl Schwartzel by seven strokes.

2. Dipika Pallikal rounded off a very successful year with another victory, her third WISPA (women’s professional squash tour) crown in 2011. The India No. 1 overcame a tough challenge from local favourite Joey Chan to win the Crocodile Challenge Cup in Hong Kong.

3. Luke Donald added another accolade to his rapidly growing resume when he was named male player of the year by the Golf Writers Association of America.

4. Argentine bike rider Jorge Martinez Boero died, following a crash on the first day of the Dakar Rally, a 15-day race that stretches across South America from Argentina to Peru.

5.  Indian ace tennis star Somdev Devvarman pulled out of the Aircel Chennai Open because of a recurring shoulder injury. 

6. Serena Williams, the ace woman tennis player who withdrew from Australian Open due to left ankle injury.

7. Teenage Afghan sisters Shabnam and Sadaf Rahimi are taking the fight for women’s rights more literally than most of their peers as members of their country’s first team of female boxers.