Devek Harryparsad wears his Protea colours for Darts. Picture: Supplied
Devek Harryparsad, the African darts champion, said he was elated to follow in the footsteps of his father.
Harryparsard was recently crowned the men's singles champion at the African Regional Darts Tournament in eSwatini.
The Pietermaritzburg resident said growing up, his father Baboo was his inspiration.
“My father is a multiple time darts champion. I grew up watching him and his other professional friends play. I started playing at 13-years-old and by the time I was in Grade 11, I won the Msunduzi Men's Singles.
"So you could say I come from a line of darts players. My dad and I still play together at Socialites Darts Club. We even won the Natal doubles together in 2016, which will always be one of the highlights of my career,” Harryparsad said.
The road to the African Regional Tournament was not easy, he explained. It also came off a long hiatus, which he took to focus on work.
“You have to go through the system to qualify for the regionals. First it starts in Msunduzi then we go provincial and national. I qualified to represent South Africa at a tournament at the Wild Coast Sun last year and ended up the second best in the country.
"That is when I was chosen for the African tournament. One of the best feelings I had in my career was calling my parents to tell them I was selected to represent South Africa."
The 38-year-old chartered accountant said since he started out in the sport 25 years ago, the game had evolved with enthusiasm among players.
“If you look at every aspect around darts in South Africa, from facilities to admin and organisation, darts has seriously improved into a professional sport with real participation. It's a genuine sport now and there are always more people who take the game seriously and introduce new dynamics to it.
"I grew up around the highest possible standards with my father and his friends and I can tell you the game has progressed so much more since then,” Harryparasad explained.
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