Nitin Kumar secures PDC World Darts Championship return after nerve-wracking Indian qualifier

Nitin Kumar has qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship for the fifth time in his career. The Indian has secured his return to the Ally Pally after a hard-fought qualifying weekend at home, in which he only managed to regain his form on the final day.

The Indian qualifier has been given a new format since 2024. The event consists of three tournaments spread over three days, where the best player over the entire weekend would get the World Championship ticket. For Kumar, who won all three tournaments as recently as 2024, that seemed like a formality. But reality proved otherwise.

On the opening day, The Royal Bengal did reach the final, but his level fell far short of expectations. Despite several missed match darts, he lost the final match to Mohan Kumar Goel. The second day became even more painful, as Kumar was already stranded in the quarterfinals with a dismal average of 62.50 against Limatoshi Limatoshi.

To make matters worse, none of the other top players reached a high level either. The surprising day's victory by Vikash Kothari, who did not even exceed 60 average during the day, illustrated the difficult state of Indian darts.

Peaking at the right time

Still, hope was not lost. Due to the disappointing results of his direct competitors Goel and Goenka, Kumar remained fully in the race on Sunday. And when it really mattered, the man from Delhi stood up.

In the third and decisive tournament, he found his old rhythm again. Kumar swept Kothari off the board in the semifinals with 5-0 and an excellent average of 89.46, his best performance of the weekend. In the final, he then left nothing to chance and recorded a convincing 5-1 victory over Ankit Goenka to claim the Worlds qualification.

With his fifth qualification, Nitin Kumar reaffirms his status as the standard-bearer of Indian darts. Last year, he lost out to Martin Lukeman (3-1) in the first round, but then the 38-year-old dart player did manage to take a set for the first time in his career at Alexandra Palace.

Final Indian Qualifier 1

Mohan Kumar Goel 5-4 Nitin Kumar

Final Indian Qualifier 2

Vikash Kothari 5-2 Apurba Sha

Final Indian Qualifier 3

Nitin Kumar 5-1 Ankit Goenka