A total of 153 players took aim at the 2025 World World Darts Championship India Qualifier, unarguably the biggest and most consequential darts tournament in India till date, at Tollygunge Club between October 27 and 28. It was presented by the Indian Darts Council (IDC), with My Kolkata as the digital partner.
Tollygunge Club’s AC Shamiana saw a massive turnout for both days of action, with 25 Winmau darts boards set up across the venue. After winning the first two rounds decisively, Nitin Kumar earned the right to represent India at the 2025 World Darts Championship in London. Having recently won the Mongolian Open, 38-year-old Kumar arrived into the qualifier in fine fettle and showed no signs of nerves as he sealed his place at the World Championship for the fourth time. Originally from Chennai but currently based in Dubai, Kumar is nicknamed the ‘The Royal Bengal’, and sports T-shirts with the face of the Royal Bengal Tiger whenever he plays.
‘I hope to be fourth-time lucky at the World Darts Championship’
Kumar receives plaudits after nailing the bullseye Amit Pramanik
“I’ve been playing for 27 years now, but the standard of the up-and-coming Indian players, who may have started only five or six years ago, is very high. If they get an inch from you, they will take you to the cleaners… At the World Championship, I hope to be fourth-time lucky. I’ve faced a lot of great opponents in the past and learnt a great deal from them,” said Kumar.
Mahi Bosmia already holds a victory over a darts world champion Amit Pramanik
After Nitin Kumar, Sangam Kumar Roy and Amit Gilitwala finished second and third, respectively. Mahi Bosmia took fourth place and, along with it, the title of the highest ranking women’s player in the qualifier. Bosmia, presently a student at The Bhawanipur Education Society College, has already played in international tournaments in Hungary and London and holds the distinction of beating Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin, a three-time world champion. Alongside Bosmia, Vikhelie Suohu came joint fourth, ahead of Vibhav Kumar, who wrapped up the top five.
‘India can compete with the best’
Russ Bray called the biggest matches over the two days at the India qualifier Amit Pramanik
With state-of-the-art equipment and live streaming facilities, the qualifier was an impeccably organised event, as reinforced by the presence of Russ Bray, popularly known as “The Voice”, who called the scores for the biggest matches over the two days. “I see a great potential for darts to take off in India. When you have players like Nitin Kumar, who average 97 and 92, you know that India can be right up there with the best and compete with the likes of Luke Littler, Micheal van Gerwen and Phil Taylor ,” said Bray, 67, a former player himself.
Neha Suraiya, the darts captain of Tollygunge Club, had insisted to Devesh Srivastava, the president of IDC, that “an event of this scale in Kolkata has to happen at Tolly”. “All the members of the club and the club committee have been really supportive, and we see a great future for darts at Tolly,” noted Suraiya.
The team that organised the biggest darts event in India till date Amit Pramanik
“Darts has a massive potential to grow in India. The fact that we have the full support of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in hosting a world-level tournament like this shows how far things can go in India. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen a surge of interest in darts among Indian youth, embodying the spirit of Khelo India and Fit India. We’re hoping to see major companies invest in darts to boost the sport further,” said Devesh Srivastava.
A day before the India qualifier took place, Tollygunge Club also hosted the second edition of the Tolly Masters, a national ranking event, which brought together more than 90 of the best darts players from across the country.
(L): Kumar Vaibhav and Aryaveer Choklani; (R): Mahi Bosmia and Rimu Sultana Protouch Sports
In the men’s singles, Aryaveer Chokhani emerged as the champion, followed by Kumar Vaibhav, who finished as the runner-up. Mahi Bosmia claimed the ladies’ singles title, ahead of Rima Sultana in second place.