KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian national darts team has notched up an impressive achievement by being invited to the WDF World Cup, which will begin on Sept 22 in Seoul.
The WDF World Cup is a darts tournament organised by the World Darts Federation and held biennially since 1977. It has featured men's events since the beginning, while women's events were added in 1983 and youth events in 1999. The most recent tournament, the 2023 World Cup, was held in Esbjerg, Denmark.
Malaysia are making an entry to the tournament after an absence of 14 years, having last taken part in 2011
The Malaysian Darts Association last week announced the national team for the prestigious event, and the four players who were selected from the training squad are Nasir Jantan, Tenooth Sivalingam, Anbaarajan Retinasamy, and Timothy Ryan Theseira.
The senior dart player of the team is the experienced Nasir, among the best darters in the country, having represented the country since 2013.
The 52-year-old Nasir, a retired firefighter with Bomba MBPJ, is also a former singles and team champion for Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Cup played in Hong Kong in 2014. On top of that, he also played for the country in the PDC World Cup, the highest professional event for the sport, in 2024.
"This is my first WDF World Cup. It is a very exciting time for me because after the PDC tournament, the is the most prestigious tournament," said Nasir, who is also a sports adviser for Sukan Bomba.
"I believe we have a very talented side that is capable of giving a good fight to all the teams in Seoul. We have a mix of youth and experience, and I have splendid hopes for the guys. I'm sure we can reach the target of making the last-16."
The other top name in the side is the 35-year-old Teenoth, an officer with the architect department in Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam. The 2019 Malaysian Open champion (team event) also had a good run in this year's Malaysian Open, having reached the team semifinals with his team ILD Warriors.
He is also among the top-five ranked players in Asia for the WDF tournament in Seoul. This year, Teenoth also won the Sabah Open singles title and was part of the quartet that won the team event in the same tournament.
"I believe all four guys in the team have been training hard since last month, and we have promised the team officials that we will give nothing but our very best for the meet. How far we will go in the tournament is hard to say until we see the situation and the tournament venue. But I can assure you we will not give anything but the best for the country," said the determined Teenoth.
IT manager Anbaarajan also thanked his employers, Ambank, for giving full support to his efforts in the darts sports.
"A special thanks to AmBank for allowing me to participate for the national team. They have been very supportive," said the 47-year-old Anbaarajan, who is also the Interbank singles champion and the 2023 Selangor Open singles champion.
"This is the first major tournament, and I'm very excited. I'm very eager to do well and make my family proud. The team is very eager to impress and do well in the tournament."
The baby of the team is Timothy. The 34-year-old is a full-time player and also owns a darts dojo. He is a well-travelled player who has played in many international tournaments, including in Singapore, Japan and China.
"I have a dream to play full-time in the pro circuit. And playing for Malaysia for the first time is also an amazing achievement for me in my career. This is a dream come true to play for the country and represent Malaysia in the WDF World Cup," said Timothy.
"I think we have a team of four guys who are raring to go and have a good run in both the singles and team events."
"This is indeed an honour for Malaysia. The last time we took part was 2011," said team manager Pathmanathan, who is also the Malaysian Darts Association treasurer and the Selangor Darts Association president.
"We are proud that Malaysia is back in this elite tournament after 14 years. The Malaysian national team promises to go all out to have a good, solid run in this tournament. The final team of four players are among the very best darters in Malaysia. They have been training very hard, and I'm sure we will come back with good results.
"The team is also shaping up well, and we have set a target of finishing among the top 16-placed teams. Also, if we make the last eight, it will be an incredible achievement."
Besides Pathmanathan, the other official for the squad is Kalaiarasan Nadarajan, the appointed assistant team manager.
Among the favourites for the tournament are England, while host South Korea and Japan will lead Asia's charge. England has already announced that Scott Mitchell, the former World Champion and previous PDC Tour Card holder, will anchor his country as the captain in South Korea, bringing his valuable experience to the side.
Besides South Korea and Japan, the Asia-Pacific region dart members comprise the following: Brunei, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Macau, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Thailand. Besides Malaysia, the Philippines will also lead the charge for the South-East Asia region.
"A total of 46 nations have been invited this year. We can be proud that Malaysia is in this group," said Pathmanathan. "Our Malaysian darters will also be taking part in the South Korea Darts Championships after the World Cup. This Korean meet will be held immediately after the World Cup."
The participating team for the WDF World Cup (46 countries): Australia (men - women - youth); Austria (men - women - youth); Bahamas (men - women); Bahrein (men); Canada (men - women - youth); Chinese Taipei (men - women - youth); Croatia (men - women); Cyprus (men); Czechia (men); Denmark (men - women); Egypt (youth); England (men - women); Estonia (men); Faroe Islands (men - women); Finland (men - women - youth); France (men - women); Germany (men - women - youth); Gibraltar (men); Hong Kong (men - women); Iceland (men - women); India (men - women); Italy (men - women); Republic of Ireland (men - women - youth); Japan (men - women - youth); South Korea (men - women - youth); Liechtenstein (men); Lithuania (men - women); Luxembourg (men - women); Malaysia (men); Mongolia (men - women - youth); Netherlands (men - women - youth); New Zealand (men - women); Northern Ireland (men - women); Norway (men); Philippines (men - women); Romania (men - women); Scotland (men - women); Slovakia (men - women); South Africa (men - women - youth); Sweden (men - women - youth); Switzerland (men - women); Thailand (men); Turkey (men - women - youth); Turks and Caicos Islands (men - women); Ukraine (men); US (men - women - youth); Wales (men - women).
