ANY TEAM CAN BEAT ANY TEAM

'Uncle Paul' aims for another darts World Cup stunner with new partner half his age

- David Lee

Hinting that his playing career could be coming to an end soon, Singaporean septuagenarian Paul Lim is hoping to write another chapter into his own folklore at the June 12-15 World Cup of Darts at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany.

"Anything can happen," he told The Straits Times. "Before I retire, I want to qualify for the World Cup, the PDC World Darts Championship and the Dartslive Super Darts, and now I've ticked one off the bucket list."

"We have done well to qualify and while it's going to be tough, I believe any team can beat any team on their day," he added before a meet-and-greet session with him and teammate Tan Phuay Wei at the Forest5 Darts Cafe on June 9, ahead of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) event.

Dartslive and Forest5 will be sponsoring the Singapore team's expenses at the tournament for the first time.

The 71-year-old certainly knows what he is talking about, as he continues to pull off remarkable feats from behind the oche since picking up the game 50 years ago.

His favourite memory at the World Cup was stunning top seeds Gary Anderson and Peter Wright of Scotland in the first round in 2017 when he recorded Singapore's best finish by reaching the quarter-finals with Harith Lim, his partner at 10 previous editions.

Then, there was another first-round giant-killing act two years later, when they knocked out Welsh third seeds Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.