Surat, 21st July 2008: All that begins well ends well. So was it for the 6th National Darts Championship that came to a glorious end on 20th July 2008. The second and the final day of the tournament were extremely exciting for the players as well as the audience. There was fervour in the air especially during the last game of the day in a thrilling tug-of-war for the title between Vishal Mehta and Ankit Goenka in the Men's Singles.

The Closing Function was as grand as the Inaugural with the presence of an eminent dignitary from the political world of Gujarat, Shree Narottambahi Patel, and Honorable Minister for Rural Development, Consumer Affairs, Civil Supplies and Panchayat. Mr. Patel and the other dignitaries Shri Ajay Choksi, President Surat District Gymnastic Association, Shri Vivek Patel Chairman Town planning Committee SMC, and Mr. Prasanta Saha Secretary AIDA were welcomed with a beautiful song by the melodious choir group from DPS Surat.

Mr. Narottam Patel whole-heartedly lauded the efforts of GDA and DPS Surat. He motivated the participants calling them "Arjuns and Prithvi Chauhans" of today. He appreciated the intelligence, concentration and above all the sportive spirit of the participants and invited them to visit Surat once again.

Mr. Choksi endorsed his views on GDA's efforts to popularize the game of darts in the state. He requested AIDA to organize an international game in the city of Surat. "The future is ours, make this your motto" said Mr. Choksi.

Mr.Prasanta Saha, Secretary General AIDA, was very happy with the overall performance especially by the Junior players. Ankit Goenka 16 years of age wins the both Junior and Senior Title. He is confident that the young and senior combination team will perform their talent in the International championships also. Also he had congratulated the oganizers for beautiful arena arrangements at the Playing Arena with the new Electronic Score Boards.

The President of GDA Mr. Pawankumar Jhunhhunwala won the hearts of the audience with his poetry and thanked all the people for making this tournament a professional event. The most awaited prize distribution ceremony was successfully completed amidst a loud applause from the audience. Like other sports darts is also moving towards a money spinning game, as the total prize amount was a whopping Rs.1, 50,000 that will be distributed equally among all the participants.

The results of the 6th National Darts Championship 2008 are:

1. Event - Mens Singles
Ankit Goenka (WB) beat Vishal Mehta (WB) the last Ranking champion by 3-2 games.

2. Event - Ladies Singles
Vijaya Tecksinghani (Maharastra) beat Ayesha Sayed (Maharastra) by 3-1 games

3. Event - Youth-Boy Singles
Ankit Goenka (WB) beat Irfan Razi (WB) by 2-0 games

4. Event - Youth-Girls Singles
Ankita Upadhaya (WB) beat Bhoomika Kachadia (Gujarat) by 2-1 games

5. Event - Sub- Junior Boys Singles
Amit Gilitwala (Gujarat) beat Mahek Gandhi (Gujarat) by 2-0 games

6. Event - Sub- Junior Girls Singles
Kajal Patel (Gujarat) beat Richa Patel (Gujarat) by 2-0 games

7. Event - Mens Doubles
Nand Kumar and Nitin kumar (Andhra Pradesh0 beat Murti Naiker and Satpal Rakesh (Gujarat) by 2-0 Games

8. Event - Mixed Doubles
Ayesha Sayed and Asfaque Sayed (Maharastra) beat Nitin Kumar and Sharda Kumar (Andhra Pradesh) by 2-0 games

9. Event - Ladies Doubles
Jolly Chanda and Ankita Upadhaya (WB) beat Bhoomika Kachadia and Arti Chauhan (Gujarat) by 2-1.

Best Promising Boy: Misbah Ahmed (Bihar)
Best Promising Girl: Kajal C.Patel (Gujarat).

Prasanta Saha
Secretary General
All India Darts Association
(9830147866)
email: sahaprasantaindia@yahoo.co.in