KLANG, April 16 — Speaking to darter Gan Chow Sin, one gets the sense of what the legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi Jr said: “Winning isn’t everything but wanting to win is.”

The 39-year-old businessman from Klang is a keen participant in the Foco Darts League.

With only two years of exposure to the sport, Chow Sin is looking forward to the challenge to compete against with 24 other competitors in the league.

“To me it is not about winning the league or bagging the prize money, but the exposure of playing against professional players from Malaysia who have 10 to 25 years of experience,” he said.

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“I consider myself a winner if I’m able to defeat a professional player.”

The Foco League is a platform for players to prepare for the Asian Qualifers in the lead-up to next year’s Lake Side BDO Men’s World Championships in the United Kingdom.

The Foco League champion will pocket RM3,000 in prize money and a fully sponsored trip to compete in the Taranaki Open Darts Championships in Auckland in July.

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Chow Sin got hooked playing darts when his close friend who is also a businessman, Ang Liang Aik, introduced him to the sport in 2015.

“The moment I mastered the basic technique of playing darts, I was obsessed to learn more about the sport,” he said.

“I even bought dart sets and fixed them in my home and office so I can practise every day.”

Mastering the basics didn’t stop Chow Sin from learning more as he sought help from former Malaysian Darts Association treasurer S Kandasamy.

Kandasamy was one of the top 10 players in Malaysia in his hey day.

“I asked him to be my mentor, he agreed and we became good friends ever since,” he said.

“He came all the way from Port Dickson to teach me. Two days of intensive training, he did not allow me to shoot the darts until I got my positioning right.”

Chow Sin, a father of three, said darts taught him a lot about self-control and also helped him release stress.

“To me darts teaches me to focus and to think wisely before making a decision,” he said.

Chow Sin’s target is to participate in the Malaysian Open.

“I give myself five years to achieve that. It will be a different feeling representing your country against other professionals. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Malaysian Darts Association (MDA) are making a concerted effort, under the presidency of Nancy Ambrose, to develop, promote and elevate the status of the sport which is now widely played at community halls and dart centres throughout the nation.

MDA secretary P Chandraraja is the man behind the Foco League.