"There’s a billion-odd people in India, there’s got to be a Luke Littler, a Phil Taylor, a Michael van Gerwen" - Russ Bray sees the future in 14-year-old Indian wonderkid

Russ Bray was one of the regular referees at major PDC tournaments for many years. The now 67-year-old Englishman retired from full-time action last year, although he still appears on the Asian Tour and the World Series of Darts.

At one of those tournaments on the Asian Tour, Bray met 14-year-old Indian Aryaveer Chokhani. "He’s their national champion, he’s mustard,” says Bray of Chokhani in quotes collected Express Sport. “When I say he’s good, I mean he’s good, I’m talking absolutely, magnificently good."

"He has the right type of attitude and he’s certainly got the right type of throw. I was out there in July, in Calcutta. He played Nitin Kumar in the final of BRC, the Bengal Rowing Club Championship tournament, their big championship, and he destroyed him," continues the legendary referee. “Bear in mind, Nitin won through to play at the World Championship. Aryaveer can’t because he was only 14. He’s terrific, he really is. A very natural dart player with a very natural throw on him. He’s got a good attitude as well and has a bit of bite about him. He shows a bit of emotion too. He could be the real deal.”

One of the biggest populations on the planet, the potential for darts in India is massive and according to Bray, interest in the sport is growing. "Last year’s [2023] qualifier had just 35 players, that was it. When you think about how big India is… But Nitin Kumar won the last one and there were 153 players, which was terrific. And it was put together in three weeks. It was televised and streamed, and the hall was fantastic," Bray recalls.

“I’ve managed to get the IDC involved, the Indian Darts Council. They’re going to be putting together Premier League-type events. There’s infrastructure in India now which will involve all the major places and give everyone the chance to play darts and help it get stronger, which it will do," he adds. "There’s a billion-odd people in India, there’s got to be a Luke Littler, a Phil Taylor, a Michael van Gerwen. There must be, it’s just a matter for us to find them.”

“Covid set darts in Asia back a few years because they couldn’t travel within Asia,” says Bray. “Going from Singapore to Hong Kong, you had to have visas and all sorts, so no one could travel. And you have to look at the expense because some of these places are really expensive to travel. And Asia is vast. I’ve called darts in Mongolia. Travel from the Philippines to Mongolia, for example, costs and it’s time-consuming. And very few guys on the Asia tour are professional players. They have to take time off from work. It’s not an easy thing. Having said that, it’s getting better and better and more in-depth.”

But so there is no shortage of talent. “These players are more than capable, it’s just a case of getting them to believe it,” insists Bray. “They’re not playing top-quality players every week like the PDC players. They need good competition, week in, week out, and it will happen. We will find someone out in Asia. It happened in the snooker. The UK dominated for many years but then a Chinese player won something and then the sport was flooded with players. That’s what will happen with darts.”