SINGAPORE: Never give up. Those were Singaporean Paul Lim's first words after narrowly falling short in his bid to become the oldest darts world champion on Sunday (Dec 8) in a 6-3 defeat by Shane McGuirk.
It was nearly a full circle moment for Lim, 70, after reaching the final of the WDF World Darts Championship in a fairy-tale run - 42 years after making his debut in the tournament.
At 29, his opponent McGuirk not only had youth on his side but momentum as well, having not dropped a single set en route to the showpiece match-up at Lakeside Country Club in Surrey, UK.
The Irishman, who was also chasing a slice of history himself, raced to a 4-0 lead and when he made it 5-1, the final was looking like a rout.
However, underdog Lim found a second wind to reel off two straight victories to trail 5-3, thrilling the Lakeside crowd who chanted "OLE, OLE, OLE Paul Lim, Paul Lim".
The veteran could not pull off the comeback as McGuirk took the sixth and final set to become Ireland's first world darts champion.
But Lim, whose nickname is "The Singapore Slinger", still won the hearts of darts fans worldwide - just as he did in 1990 when he became the first player to throw a nine-dart finish at a world championship.
Lim admitted his start in the final was less than ideal but at no point did he consider throwing in the towel.
"I was down but I always say in life, never give up. That's what we do in life, never give up that's all," he said, before thanking the crowd for their support and confirming he would be taking part in next year's WDF World Darts Championship.
McGuirk also said Lim, who also made headlines in 2017 when he and partner Harith Lim knocked out top seeds Scotland in the first round of the PDC World Cup of Darts, had given him a run for his money.
"He put me under pressure ... he just couldn't stop hitting them. I just kept thinking to myself, you have the lead ... just keep going and eventually it will come for me in the end," McGuirk added.
McGuirk took home the winner's cheque of £50,000 (S$85,500), while runner-up Lim collected £16,000.
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It was nearly a full circle moment for Lim, 70, after reaching the final of the WDF World Darts Championship in a fairy-tale run - 42 years after making his debut in the tournament.
At 29, his opponent McGuirk not only had youth on his side but momentum as well, having not dropped a single set en route to the showpiece match-up at Lakeside Country Club in Surrey, UK.
The Irishman, who was also chasing a slice of history himself, raced to a 4-0 lead and when he made it 5-1, the final was looking like a rout.
However, underdog Lim found a second wind to reel off two straight victories to trail 5-3, thrilling the Lakeside crowd who chanted "OLE, OLE, OLE Paul Lim, Paul Lim".
The veteran could not pull off the comeback as McGuirk took the sixth and final set to become Ireland's first world darts champion.
But Lim, whose nickname is "The Singapore Slinger", still won the hearts of darts fans worldwide - just as he did in 1990 when he became the first player to throw a nine-dart finish at a world championship.
Lim admitted his start in the final was less than ideal but at no point did he consider throwing in the towel.
"I was down but I always say in life, never give up. That's what we do in life, never give up that's all," he said, before thanking the crowd for their support and confirming he would be taking part in next year's WDF World Darts Championship.
McGuirk also said Lim, who also made headlines in 2017 when he and partner Harith Lim knocked out top seeds Scotland in the first round of the PDC World Cup of Darts, had given him a run for his money.
"He put me under pressure ... he just couldn't stop hitting them. I just kept thinking to myself, you have the lead ... just keep going and eventually it will come for me in the end," McGuirk added.
McGuirk took home the winner's cheque of £50,000 (S$85,500), while runner-up Lim collected £16,000.
Continue reading...