Noa-Lynn van Leuven she failed to make her debut at the World Darts Championships with a victory. Despite a good start, the Dutch darter lost in sets to his compatriot 3:1 Kevin Doets.
Van Leuven started the match even better, winning the first set 3-1. Then, in the third part of the second set, the interesting part began. Both players missed multiple times in doubles play, and ultimately it was Doets who hit 33 darts to win the set. “Hawkeye” then also won the set 3-1 and turned the match around. “I miss way too many darts in one leg in doubles,” Van Leuven later noted, aware of that leg in the second set. “And of course it shouldn’t be like that. Then I missed a few opportunities. But I think I can remember this tournament very well.”
However, there was a sense of pride immediately after the match. “I’m super proud to be standing here. I’ve had a really great year, especially looking back on what I’ve experienced. It’s a really cool place, a really cool tournament to compete in.”
The duel was widely commented in the press. After all, Van Leuven made history by becoming the first transgender person to compete in the World Darts Championships. The Heemskerk player hopes that her performance will set an example for her peers. “I hope I can mean something to people in my community. Still showing my visibility.”
Van Leuven then expressed hope that the transgender stigma would soon disappear. A journalist present recalled that Van Leuven is the first transgender woman at this tournament, but Van Leuven wanted to correct this. “The first Dutch woman,” she corrected. “I hope it was really nice for the Dutch women’s darts team. I hope it was really nice for my community and that I can still show that I’m there, I’m standing there and I’m fighting for everyone. Everyone can do it, let’s be ourselves. “Let’s get rid of ‘transgender woman Noa-Lynn’ and be proud of me and not stuff like this all the time.”
