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Darts in India - Update February
2005
DARTS IN INDIA – UPDATE – FEBRUARY 2005
Having read my
previous reports about darts in India, you will know that one of the rising
stars is Ashfaque Sayed. Here is Ashfaque’s personal report of his latest
success.
‘No marks for
guessing what has happened Patrick!!
I was on song
during the 1st All India Ranking Darts Championship held at Hyderabad
this month. Once again I annexed the Men’s Singles title 2-1 and no marks for
guessing my opponent – my good friend Vinod Sawalani He stunned me by taking the
first game with the help of 180. It shook me but it also made me mentally strong
and my games were then at their peak and with consistent high scores of average
100 plus, I managed the next two games - thus winning 2-1 - my winning double
being D6. I won a lovely crystal Trophy and cash prize of Rs 18,000/-.
The main sponsor
was Srilankan Airlines. The event was organised by Andhra Pradesh Darts
Association under the leadership of Mr Venkat Reddy whose arrangements were
excellent.
The Women’s singles
was a repeat of the 2nd Nationals at Pune with Aneesha Mehta winning
the title beating Jolly Chanda of Western Bengal 2-1. My wife Ayesha this year
too lost to Aneesha in the semi Finals.
Vinod and I won the
Men’s Doubles 2 - 0, defeating Elvis Jackson and Vivek Srivastav of West
Bengal. The Mixed doubles was won by Yash Lakhotia and Amrita Raha (W. Bengal).
The above results are on the AIDA website which is
www.darts.indiax.com. There were 50 players from 12 states.
Another plus for us
this time was that we were covered by television media which means the news was
carried in 35 plus countries by Zee TV and DD News. This was apart from the
print media. In fact DD sports recorded our match for a 30 minute programme
which was aired in Andhra Pradesh and will be shortly aired in the National
level. We are anxiously awaiting the dates. The Next Forte for me individually
and for all I guess will be the 3rd National Championship to be held
at Patna or Kolkotta in March / April this year.
By virtue of
winning the titles this year I have raced ahead in the merit table with 18 pts
followed by Vinod by 12 points. As things stand today (3rd February
2005) I am the lone selection for the national team for the World Cup at Perth
next September. I am trying to bring up my level of the game that is to score
constantly above 120 even in practice.
Anyways one good
thing about darts I love is that you don’t need a sparring partner in practice
you can do it all by yourself.’
Thanks Ashfaque and
good luck to you and Vinod and all the darts players in India. I – and all
visitors to my web site – look forward to receiving regular update on darts’
progress in your country.
Having said that, I
would be pleased to hear from any dart players in India who have something to
say about darts in their country or how well they are doing in competition. Do
you think darts is going to be big in India? Let me know. Contact me
through my ‘Contact’ page.
I look forward to
hearing from you.
Additional Information:
© Patrick Chaplin
2005
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