National darts champions Sudesh Fitzgerald successfully defended his crown against Anil Lachman when the Guyana Darts Association (GDA) national darts championships concluded on Sunday evening at the Malteenoes Sports Club on Thomas Lands.
The event which was sponsored by proprietor Bholanauth Ramdial, saw Fitzgerald retaining his title by defeating Lachman five games to two in their best of nine series.
The defending champion displayed his superior pedigree by winning the first four games before the promising Lachman registered victories in the next two matchups. However Fitzgerald would rebound in the seventh game to clinch the Ramdial trophy.
In the third place fixture, Lallchand Rambharose got the better of Sherwyn Greene in their best of seven series.
On the distaff side, a new champion was crowned as Rosetta Hiralall defeated older sister Hemwattie Amyan 4-2 in their seven-match series. With the win, Hiralall claimed the Safari Inn sponsored championship trophy.
In the men’s doubles division, A. Lachman and Colin France combined well to defeat the team of S. Greene and L. Rambharose in their best of seven series to clinch the GDA doubles trophy.
On the female side, the team of Mary Correia and Jean DeSouza claimed the Dr. Walter Joseph Trophy by defeating sisters H. Amyan and R. Hiralall in their best of five series.
In the mixed doubles division for the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) sponsored trophy, the team of L. Rambharose and H. Amyan defeated defending champions S. Fitzgerald and H. Amyan in their best of five games.
In the third place playoff, Leonardo Butcher and Melissa Smart got the better of Francis Correia and Jean De Souza.
At the presentation ceremony that followed the conclusion of the event, GDA President Grantley Culbard complimented the players on their performances and noted that in all his years of association with national darts competitions, he has never witnessed so many upsets.
Most of the upsets came from players of the Bank of Guyana team who were competing for the first time at the national level. It augurs well for the development of what is considered a minority sport in Guyana but observed its wide acclaim in other countries.
Three incentive prizes/trophies which were sponsored by Apex Insurance Brokers, were awarded to players who completed a game throwing the least number of darts, the highest check-out to finish a game, and for throwing the most (maximum) 180s.
The first two mentioned were won by national men’s champion S. Fitzgerald while the latter was won by promising youth player Nicholas Seetaram. The remaining sponsors of the event include the Trophy Stall and DyRock Construction Corporation.