DARTS league plan

Aref Murad, ‘the dartsman of Bahrain’ is hoping to reignite the sport in the kingdom and set up an official league for its loyal fans.

The sports-mad Bahraini is the proud owner of Darts Bay in Umm Al Hassam, the only niche darts retail outlet in the Middle East.

The store opened last Christmas after overwhelming requests from his online business www.bahraindarts.com, which has been selling darts merchandise since 2009.

Since then, Murad, 39, from Isa Town, hasn’t looked back, he said: “We stock a wide range of products for players of all skill levels, from beginners to people who have played all their lives. The website was booming but people wanted something more physical where they could come and see the goods for themselves.”

Murad first developed an interest in darts after watching his older brother, Rashid, play. He said: “It was 1995 when I first took an interest in the sport and I was hooked from the start, although I didn’t understand all the rules at the time. I just liked throwing the darts at the board and, thankfully, my understanding of the finer points of the game gradually increased.

“Rashid acted like a mentor and we still play darts together, sometimes at home but not in competitions, although he hasn’t beaten me in years!”

Darts is a big part of family life and as a wedding present, Rashid gave his brother a prized Nodor dartboard, which Murad’s wife, Amal, 31, was OK with.

Nodor, inventors of the Bristle Dartboard in 1932, is regarded by players as the producer of the Rolls-Royce of darting products.

“She knows how important the sport is to me and she is wonderfully supportive and understanding. Amal knows how much I love darts and it means the world to me that she accepts that. In fact, I was at a tournament when Dawood was being born but I have my priorities, I didn’t play and rushed to the hospital. Some of my friends even came to the hospital with me!”

Their daughters Maram, nine, and Rian, seven, like watching darts on TV and he is confident his new-born son, Dawood, will be a darts player in the future too!

Murad has been shooting darts in the kingdom for years and says that during the 1980s and early 1990s, the sport was very popular in Bahrain and hotels held monthly competitions.

In the past decade these events have been slightly fewer and far between with the majority of the kingdom’s darts action taking place at expat clubs such as the British Club, Bahrain Rugby Club and the Dilmun Club although interest in the sport has suddenly taken off again in recent months.

The hotshot player has taken part in a number of competitions this year alone, both at home and abroad, such as Dubai’s Darts Bay Major Darts Tournament at The Palace Hotel and the Open Single Darts Competition, plus June’s Darts Bay Doubles Tournament at The Palace Hotel in Bahrain.

His passion has allowed him to meet some of the best players in the world  including 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, two-time PDC World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis and Paul Nicholson.

Murad said: “They’re really friendly people you can talk to. They’re different people on TV because of the pressure to win but outside of the sporting arena they’re lovely guys. When I was in London last time at an event, these greats knew who I was and had heard what I was trying to do with the darts scene on the island.”

Jason Smith is also a keen player and recently came second at a singles tournament held at The Palace Hotel and organised by Murad. He said: “There were 36 players involved and the competition lasted six weeks. It was a great event and I was unfortunate to fall at the last hurdle to British Club’s Shawn Cocker in the final, but it was still a great event and lots of fun.

“There’s some great darts players in Bahrain and thanks to people like Aref, we have the chance to come together and play. We’re trying to get all the social clubs to pull together to get an official darts league running in Bahrain.

“There is a regular social darts evening at the Dilmun Club every Tuesday, which is run by Mel Carritt very successfully. Myself and Jonty Crosse organise the Bahrain Rugby Social Darts on a Sunday evening. This year we have hosted a team from Riyadh, the St Christopher’s School Teachers team (winning both) and Trader Pecks twice (narrowly losing both).

“A point we would like to mention is that Chris Fisher of 3DI Bahrain has kindly provided purpose-built boards and stands for both the Dilmun Club and Rugby Club and, of course, this is much appreciated and has assisted greatly in bringing the game to both clubs.

“Simon Peck has set up a team called Trader Pecks which has a great following and is a group of excellent dart players, playing at their own home venue and also against other teams, such as the Rugby Club.”

As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the UK, across the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the US and elsewhere.

Murad and Smith believe the reason the sport is so popular globally is because it appeals to ‘the average man in the street’. Murad said: “It’s not hugely expensive, it’s accessible, fun and there’s no age limit.

“The official Bahrain Darts League suddenly stopped in 1994 but we’re trying to bring it back by getting clubs and pubs together to make a formal league. To start again you need to educate people about playing singles and doubles to find best players or best teams.

“We’re hoping an upcoming event at the Bahrain Rugby Football Club will gather all the players so we can announce the idea, take their input and find out if people are interested.”

The next competition, a 4-a-side tournament, is a one-day event being held at Bahrain Rugby Football Club and jointly organised with Darts Bay on September 13 from 2pm.

Teams must have a minimum of four players and a maximum of eight and entry costs BD20 per team.

Registration ends on September 6.