Trans player Van Leuven is a winner even as she loses

As Noa-Lynn van Leuven approached the stage, red hair flowing and lipstick shimmering under the lights, it was hard to know what the reaction would be.

- LAWRENCE OSTLERE

Throughout the long history of sporting crowds, from the Colosseum of Rome to this cathedral of darts just off the north circular, at their most basic level they can choose a binary response to their environment, with cheers or with boos. How would the World Championship at Alexandra Palace respond to its first transgender competitor?

A few minutes earlier there had been a gentle hum of boos as Van Leuven’s face was displayed on screen for a pre-match interview. There were a few wolf whistles as she stepped to her mark at the start of the runway. But if there were any murmurings of disapproval as she stepped on stage, they were drowned out firstly by her walkout song, “Euphoria” by Loreen, and then by the majority of giddy fans.

Perhaps the people sitting around this collection of folding tables in Alexandra Palace are a useful bellwether for the great British public, distilled down to its most revered cultural tradition: a giant stag do. It was 1pm on a Tuesday and most of the room was already half-cut, when in walked a transgender athlete. And, broadly, she was welcomed.

Indeed there was a tangible swell of support for Van Leuven’s cause as the match wore on, as she showed her skill to win the first set and later battled to keep pace with the improving Kevin Doets.