The Police team members and also officials celebrating their win over Thailand in the final on Sunday evening (Dec 17).
IT WAS indeed a final to remember as Malaysian Police produced a scintillating performance to win the inaugural PDD Malaysia Cup 2023 which ended late on Sunday night (Dec 17) at the Maju Junction in Kuala Lumpur.
Invitees Thailand had been in fine form and had even upset crowd favourites Selangor 7-6 in a closely-fought semifinals.
But they came against a brick wall in the form of Malaysian Police in the final, in what could be seen as a nerve-wracking match that excited the many fans that were here watching the tense game.
In the end, the Malaysian Police comprising Hazri Hassan, D. Sivaperumal, Norisyam Sebi and Nasir Ismail, proved to be the better sharpshooters and won 8-7 in the shootout. The Thailand side were represented by Sarayut Ouamumpa, Sorawis Rodman, Natthakhom and Wiwat Pannom.
For the record, Sorawis Rodman of Thailand was given the Best Player of the Tournament Award while Police's ace darter Nasir Ismail won the Final Man-of-the-Match Award.
Besides Thailand, Brunei and India were the other invited teams to the tournament. Brunei ended in the seventh placing while India finished ninth.
For the record, that incredible final game was what the many fans at the event deserve as the tournament throughout its two-day tenure as it produced many incredible closely-fought ties to excite the fans.
Third placed team Selangor.
Meanwhile, Selangor finished third. The team led by state champion R. Anbaarajan and teammates Duncan Vincent, Praveen Nair and Nasir Jantan were unbeatable in the preliminaries and quarterfinals but lost 7-6 to the Thais in the semis.
However, they were back at their best in the third-fourth playoff and whipped Perak 8-4 with a superb show.
The champion of the tournament Police walked with RM5,000 and medals. The second placed team Thailand bagged 2,500 while third placed Selangor went home with RM1,000 and Perak received RM500 for their fourth-placed effort.
Selangor team manager Michael Suresh Kumar said he hopes to see more of such tournaments in the country.
"It was a great experience for all of the players participating here. Police were incredible and deserve the win. We are hoping to see more young people getting involved in this game in the future."
The two-day event featured 11 state teams, along with Malaysian uniformed bodies and the three invited guest nations (Brunei, Thailand and India).
The opening ceremony was held at the Maju Junction at 9am on Saturday. The ceremony was officiated by Nancy Ambrose, the President of Malaysian Darts Association and Pathma C.R., the co founder of PDD.
Pathma said: "I am hoping more sponsors help us for such tournaments and more financial help to organise such tournaments in the future. Many states have also approached us to conduct more tournaments in their venues.
"There are many dart players who have much pride playing for their states. Darts is also recognised by the Ministry of Sports now. We hope youngsters also get involved in the game which is highly recognised in world sports."
The team event is expected to give a shot in the arm for darts in Malaysia.
Organised by PDD (Professional Darts Developer), the event is a culmination of a dream by the founders of PDD to take Malaysian darts to the next level by staging a year-long series of state darts events where participants accumulate points to qualify for a grand final in Kuala Lumpur.
The aim of the tournament is to develop the sport at the grassroots level and unearth new talent that can be groomed to become top players and take part in future top international tournaments.
