Chennai-based aficionados of the ancient sport of darts — a game in which darts are thrown at a circular bristle board fixed to a wall — Venu Pillai, an interior designer, and S. Saravanaraj, an architect, are pioneers in introducing the game as a competitive sport in Tamil Nadu. In 2011, they formed the Tamil Nadu Darts Association (TANDA) to promote a state team and groom national champions. Presently Chennai hosts two darts clubs: Flying Barons and Club 180 with an aggregate membership of 48 players. The enterprising duo are also business partners in Jest Riot Media Pvt. Ltd (estb. 1996), a Chennai-based event management company that hosts a consortium of companies including the flagship design company Forays Interiors, Jest Riot Academy of Sports, and Academy of Music and Dance.

Newspeg. Within a year of launching darts as a formal competitive sport, the duo has catapulted Tamil Nadu into the big league of darts championships. At the 10th national championship hosted by TANDA in April 2012 and sponsored by the Chennai-based BVK Group Enterprises, Tamil Nadu won the men’s singles and mixed doubles, and bagged the overall championship. The two-day tournament attracted 120 participants from 12 states who threw darts at 13 dartboards installed in two venues for three days. Today, this southern sea-board state boasts two seeded players — Nitin Kumar in the men’s and Vidhyasaran in the women’s sections. More recently in January, 20 players from Tamil Nadu participated in the South Asian Open Darts Tournament held in Jaipur.

Direct talk. “Darts is traditionally a pub game which has been promoted by the World Darts Federation as a major sport since 1976. With the promotion of Café 180 which includes a darts alley, the objective is to promote darts as a clean and fun family sport. The game is a great stress buster and also helps develop focus and mathematical skills,” says Venu Pillai.

Genesis. A distance education alumnus of the Institute of Art and Architecture, Illinois, Venu Pillai began his career in 1984 in a construction company in Abu Dhabi where he started playing darts for recreation and soon graduated into the major league. In 1994, he returned to India and promoted Jest Riot Media two years later to organise summer camps for school children, events for corporates, music shows and art and crafts workshops. A decade later in 2006, he started Innovative Interiors — a home and office interior design firm. Saravanaraj is an engineering graduate of Anna University and promoter of Chennai-based Saran Architects. A close professional relationship resulted in the merger of their businesses.

Future plans. Having quietly groomed 17 national-level players, the duo is keen to attract more people to this sharp sport, formally invented in the UK in 1896. “We plan to introduce darts (with soft tips) in schools and also promote the sport in corporate offices as a de-stressing activity. Our objective is to develop champions on a par with international standards. On the drawing board are plans to introduce darts lounges in Chennai, spread the game to other towns and cities and train players with potential to play competitive league matches,” says Venu Pillai.

Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai)