AN IRISH based darts player has revealed his delight at being crowned the Palestine national champion for the second year in succession.
Taiseer Mustafa, who lives in Swords, Co Dublin, said he was proud to retain his title after winning a nerve-shredding final 7-5.
The win is just the latest achievement for Taiseer, who has also been a winner on the international stage with Palestine.
He told Darts In Ireland that due to the ongoing situation in Palestine, he had to play this week's national championships remotely from Ireland.
However he admitted that it didn't make winning any easier.
Taiseer said: "I might have been playing remotely, but it didn't calm my nerves one little bit once I got to the final.
"It was a very tough game. I got ahead early in it but was then brought back to 5-4 and then 6-5, so I was very happy to eventually hit that winning double.
"It was a great feeling to be Palestine champion again, especially after winning it last year also."
Taiseer, who moved from Ramallah to work in Ireland in 2007, says that despite the obvious challenges, darts is beginning to grow in Palestine.
He added: "It is getting more popular, but only in the West Bank because, as you can imagine, it is a very difficult situation in Gaza right now.
"But our players now have the use of some very good facilities like the Arab American University in Ramallah, which they have been able to turn into a really nice darts venue for tournaments.
"So this is helping to improve the standard of play amongst our players and hopefully that is only going to get better."
Taiseer said that Palestine had hoped to send a four-man team to the WDF World Cup in South Korea next months, but that is now looking logistically and financially unlikely.
He said: "Unfortunately we haven't been able to secure the sponsorship we would need to finance such a big trip.
"It's a shame as we would love to have put a team in from Palestine for the first ever time and I would have loved to play against Ireland.
"We haven't completely given up hope on it yet but unless we can get the funding, then it's unlikely to happen."
Two major tournaments that Taiseer will be attending is the Killarney Darts festival in November and also the WDF World Masters in Hungary.
As national champion, Taiseer has qualified to play at the World Masters, an experience he is very much looking forward to.
He said: "It will be great to play at such a big tournament and to test myself at that level.
"I'll also be entering three of the tournaments in Killarney, including the Irish Open, so I'm very much looking forward to that also.
"I play almost every day online now and also go to some tournaments in Wicklow and around Dublin and that is helping to improve my game.
"I have no problem with scoring big and hitting 180s and 140s, and if I can just improve on my doubles and finishing, then my averages can improve even more."
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