Darts star not letting race, age or gender be barriers | Sport

She has twice retired from the sport and hones her skills in snatched practice sessions during 13-hour night shifts at the Royal Mail sorting office. But these are far from the most noteworthy aspects of the career of Deta Hedman, who will finally grace the biggest stage in darts this month.

One of the stars of the women’s games in the 1990s, at 61 she will be the second-oldest debutant in the history of the PDC World Championship and, as a black woman, a trailblazer at the oche.

Last year it was Fallon Sherrock, a single mother with an autistic son, who lit up the Alexandra Palace as she became the first woman to beat a man at the sport’s most prestigious tournament. This year,