Since its inception in 2019, the Royal Darts Premier League (RDPL) has grown bigger with each successive edition. At the sixth instalment of the tournament, the Platinum Lounge at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) was buzzing with excitement on April 7, the day of the final. This year saw the number of teams grow from 12 to 16 in the RDPL, with a total of 140 players entering into the auction held on March 5, organised by Vyana Sports.
‘Seeing so many women participate and win is a sign that the club is moving in the right direction’
Gaurav Ghosh at the prize distribution ceremony after the RDPL final
“It’s great to see so many members actively taking part in darts, beyond the club’s main sport of golf,” said RCGC captain Gaurav Ghosh, speaking at the prize distribution ceremony. “The event has been a great success, but the most pleasing aspect has to be the number of women who took part today. RCGC activities have been dominated by men over the years, but seeing so many women participate and win is a sign that the club is moving in the right direction,” added Ghosh, highlighting the 32 women who took part in the tournament, including Swati Agarwal, the owner of the winning team Balaji Darts, who beat Purti Forever in the final.
Swati Agarwal (second from left) receives her accolade as the Most Valuable Lady Player at this year’s RDPL
Swati Agarwal not only owns Balaji Darts, but also emerged as the Most Valuable Lady Player during the RDPL, playing a vital role in her team’s victory. “It’s a great feeling to get this first win for Balaji Darts. The auction was where we started building our team and everyone performed to potential. Our collective efforts have led to the win. Our captain Daniel [Ghaznavi] led from the front, from providing insights during the auction to getting valuable points right through the tournament. We are ecstatic with this win and a team celebration will follow very soon!” reflected Agarwal.
My Kolkata also spoke to the winning captain, Daniel Ghaznavi, who said: “Our team clicked at the right time and getting the win with the team owner getting the final check was beautiful! I was at the auction and we picked up quite a few players who were unknown. We picked two players for just one point each and they performed for us, which was great!” Pukhraj Singh Jawanda notched up the single highest score at the RDPL with a game of 154, while also getting the first set for Balaji Darts. Vijay Kapur, the other surprise package of the tournament, bagged the Most Valuable Player award, getting the most checks in the tournament for Balaji Darts.
‘In darts, the beauty is that you could be 14 or 70 and still compete against each other’
A lot of rookies stepped up to the plate for Balaji Darts
“With the increase in teams this year, we got a lot more players into the auction. And there were a lot of rookies, too. What was surprising to see was that most of the awards were bagged by rookies. Balaji Darts had a lot of rookies who turned up the heat at crucial moments. That aside, darts is always a great way to increase interaction among club members who may not have met before,” said Abhenav Khettry from Vyana Sports.
Devesh Srivastava (extreme right, in blue) watches the action unfold at the RDPL
While the celebrations continued, My Kolkata caught up with the man behind the whole tournament, Devesh Srivastava, the RCGC darts captain and the president of the Indian Darts Council. Srivastava formerly represented India in darts and his passion for the sport has proven infectious at RCGC. Srivastava played for BLC High Rollers at the RDPL, but despite winning his set, it was not enough to carry his team to the final.
“The idea with the RDPL has always been to raise the bar, which is something we have done. We started off with seven teams and 56 players in 2019, and last year we had 12 teams and 96 players. This year, all the numbers have increased, with 16 teams competing and 128 players as well as 12 reserve players. Darts is a sport that has a lot of potential to grow. In darts, the beauty is that you could be 14 or 70 and still compete against each other,” explained Srivastava, who captained RCGC between 2007 and 2016, and was part of the Indian team at the 2015 World Darts Federation (WDF) World Cup in Antalya, Turkey
Purti Forever posing with the runners-up prize
Earlier, with the final in progress, tipple flowed all around, without affecting the determination of the players. The inseparable relationship between alcohol and darts means that broadcasting the sport in India is tricky, but Srivastava believes that darts must be converted into a franchise league format and televised for the sake of its growth in the country: “If we want to catch up with the standard of darts elsewhere in the world, we need to accept that there will be alcohol at a darts arena and broadcasters will have to be on board with televising such events. That’s the only way to help change the mindset of the public on darts, transforming it from a pub game into a competitive sport.”
