WDF World Cup Youth Boys Pairs

The 21st edition of the WDF World Cup Youth was held from 3 to 7 October at the Kobe International Exhibition Hall in Japan. It is after Kuala Lumpur in 2011 the second time that the WDF World Cup Youth is played in Asia. A number of leading darts countries are absent from this 21st edition of this event. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, among others, cannot get it financially in order to travel to Japan.

Yet it will be an unforgettable edition in which 28 men's teams, 26 women's teams and 12 youth teams compete for the big Cups. Hong Kong was last there in 1989 and returns to the WDF World Cup Youth, Mongolia and South Korea make their debut, just as Marco Meijer does as a referee on the podium.

For the tenth edition of the WDF World Cup youth, 12 countries have come to Japan, including the debuting host country. The Dutch boys in particular proved to be unbeatable, especially in the knockout phase.

Boys Singles
In the boys singles, Justin van Tergouw defeated Killian Heffernan from Ireland in the semi-finals. Heffernan had won 4-3 in the group, but now Van Tergouw was the strongest 5-1. In the other semi-final, Wessel Nijman, a fellow countryman of Justin, won 5-2 against the Iranian Amirali-Mirzaei Goodarzi. These two boys had also played against each other in the group and also then the winner was different than in the semi-final. The final was a great duel that ended up with Justin van Tergouw as the winner, he won 6-3. After Jerry Hendriks, Jonny Nijs, Jimmy Hendriks and Maikel Verberk, Justin is the fifth Dutchman to win the boys' singles.

Girls Singles
In the girls singles, the victory goes to Deniz Hashtbaran from Iran. Two years earlier she had to be contend with bronze, but this year she is the strongest. She does not lose a match in the group stage and beats Leera Rietbergen, Emine Dursan and Katie Sheldon from Ireland in the knockout phase. Never before has there been a gold medal in the singles for Iran. Ireland has never won a medal in the girls singles, so Sheldon also has a piece of history.

Boys Pairs
It will come as no surprise that Justin van Tergouw and Wessel Nijman take the gold together in the pairs. Not one opponent win more than one leg against the Dutch. In the final they beat Keane Barry and Killian Heffernan from Ireland. Van Tergouw thus retains the title that he won with Maikel Verberk last time. He is the first youth player ever to successfully defend a WDF World Cup title.

Girls Pairs
In the girl’s pairs, the Netherlands is also in the final, but here Layla Brussels & Lerena Rietbergen have to settle for the silver. Deniz Hashtbaran & Mahshad Avazzadeh from Iran win the final in a deciding eleventh leg. Besides the gold in the girls singles this is already the second gold for Hashtbaran this year.

Mixed Pairs
The mixed pairs are also a Dutch gathering. Justin van Tergouw & Layla Brussels beat the Turkish duo Emine Dursan & Oguzhan Kaya in the semi-finals. Wessel Nijman & Lerena Rietbergen win in the other semi-final against the other Turkish pair Erdem Butuner & Melisa Mukaddes-Dogan. In the final, Van Tergouw & Brussels are 6-4 too strong for Nijman & Rietbergen. It is the fourth time that the Netherlands takes gold in this event.

Overall World Cup Youth
It is also the fourth time that the Netherlands wins the WDF World Cup Youth. Justin van Tergouw, Wessel Nijman, Layla Brussel & Leera Rietbergen have a total of 275 points. Iran comes in second, their best performance ever. Ilia Khoshnoodi, Amirali-Mirzaei Goodarzi, Deniz Hashtbaran & Mahshad Avazzadeh accumulate 198 points. That's 14 points more than the bronze of the Republic of Ireland, which is hung on Keane Barry, Killian Heffernan, Katie Sheldon & Amy Byrne. Other noteworthy things include Turkey that takes four bronze medals, the first four medals ever for Turkey. The Japanese duo Sakuto Sueshige & Shusaku Nakamura win a bronze medal for the host country in the boys pairs.

Overall ranking
1 - 275 points Netherlands
2 - 198 points Iran
3 - 184 points Republic Ireland
4 - 140 points Turkey
5 - 93 points Japan
6 - 76 points South Africa
7 - 74 points Australia
8 - 67 points Germany
9 - 60 points Russia
10 - 43 points Denmark
11 - 42 points Sweden
12 - 28 points Canada