DUTCH COURAGE

Love of the game keeps Van Leuven going

- MIKE WALTERS

SHE'S been shunned by opponents and her own Dutch team-mates, suffered bullying, booing and even had death threats.

But at Alexandra Palace next week, Noa-Lynn van Leuven hopes she will be remembered for her darts, not her transgender backstory.

Paddy Power Van Leuven, who qualified for the PDC World Championship through a top-two finish in the Women's Series, has endured a rocky road to her first-round date with compatriot Kevin Doets next Tuesday.

The winner will set a booby-trap for former world champion Michael "Bully Boy' Smith, and Van Leuven is unsure what kind of reception awaits her at Ally Pally.