Female darts star Deta Hedman pulled out of a tournament last weekend after being drawn against a transgender opponent. The Englishwoman, 65, had been due to compete with Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the quarter-finals of the PDC Women’s Series on Saturday.

She however withdrew from the clash and thereby forfeited her place in the tournament after learning of her opponent, who was born as a male in the Netherlands. Hedman has indeed been vocal with her views about transgender darts stars competing in women-only events. Only last year she pulled out of the Denmark Open after being drawn against Van Leuven.

‘I’m not playing against a man in a woman’s body,’ she told German publication Bild at the time.

Van Leuven, 29, created history late last year when she became the first Dutch woman to qualify for the World Darts Championship.

Her proceeding participation in women-only competitions however sparked backlash, with the red-haired darts star taking a break from the game after a ‘difficult few months’ in which she received vile abuse and even death threats.

She was later banned from competing in women’s tournaments by the World Darts Federation (WDF) in July after the organisation were urged to restrict participation to players who were born female.

The new rule meant that transgender women, including Van Leuven, would only be able to compete in the Open category under the WDF. The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) are however yet to follow in the organisation’s footsteps.

The PDC have reiterated that transgender sportswomen are free to compete in women-only events, meaning Van Leuven has been eligible to take part in tournaments such as that of last weekend.

Despite the controversy surrounding the Dutchwoman’s participation in the female game, she has received the support of some of darts’ biggest names.

One of those is her fellow countryman Michael van Gerwen, who described the WDF’s decision to ban the 29-year-old as ‘heartbreaking’.

‘She does what she does and she can play terrific darts,’ the three-time world champion said.

‘Let her play nice. For me, there’s never been a discussion but I don’t make the rules.

‘The PDC has people who go over them. They can never make the right choice anyway. If they go left, people say they should go right and vice-versa. Everyone has an opinion about it, but there is no point at all in continuing to argue.’

Responding to the WDF’s decision in July, Van Leuven wrote on Instagram: ‘This past Monday, the WDF released a new policy regarding gender eligibility.

‘I want to take a moment to respond. This decision does affect me personally though, thankfully, not too severely at this point in time. But still, it hurts.

‘Once again, it’s a loss for the trans community in sports. And that breaks my heart.

‘As a trans person in the darts world, I know how vital inclusion is not just on paper, but in practice. It’s disheartening to see yet another policy framed around ‘fairness’ that ultimately results in exclusion, without truly considering the people behind the labels.

‘My heart goes out to all the athletes impacted by this. We remain visible. We keep going.’