Female darts star calls for transgender players to be BANNED from women’s ranked events… insisting it has been ‘wrong since day one’ after Lakeside World Championship featured a trans player

Darts star Deta Hedman has called for transgender players to be banned from participating in ranked women's tournaments.

Hedman, one of the most well-known figures in the women's darts scene and has been practicing the sport for five decades, published a lengthy statement giving her views on the subject.

It comes after Victoria Monaghan last week became the first transgender person to compete in the women's tournament at the WDF World Darts Championship at Lakeside.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven, meanwhile, became the first trans woman to take part in a televised darts tournament during the Women's World Matchplay in July.

Hedman, a multiple champion, believes the inclusion of transgender players is 'harmful' to women's darts and has been 'wrong from day one'.

In her message on Facebookshe wrote: “For months I have struggled with transgender people competing in women's world rankings events.”

She then emphasized how far women's darts has come, after Hedman and others 'fought for better recognition of women's darts' in the late 1980s.

Hedman said she “packed up” in 1997 because she felt there was “little future for the ladies” before returning when a women's championship was formed.

She then adds: 'Then came the acceptance that trans women could participate in women's sport through the WDF, PDC, county darts and independent events.

'I have known from day one that this is wrong, I have no problems with transgender people in life, I am not close to Noa-Lynn in terms of darts, but honestly he seems like a nice person.

'At Lakeside I met Victoria Monaghan and she's right. We chatted and laughed a lot, but my personal opinion is that transgender should not be allowed to play in women's ranked events.”

Hedman said she raised her concerns with the WDF, but the governing body was “concerned about legal challenges” and that “they needed scientific evidence that a transgender person has an advantage over biological women.”

She also claimed to have contacted Dr Linda Duffy – former world number one in women's darts – and called her articles “showing exactly why trans players have advantages over biological women, especially if they have gone through puberty as men .'

Hedman added: 'In my opinion those (especially men) who say there are no reasons why women can't play as well as men, talking out of their behinds.'

Monaghan was defeated in straight sets by Suzanne Smith in the first round of the WDF Women's World Championships.

Hedman, meanwhile, reached the quarter-finals where she was defeated by Rhian O'Sullivan, while Beau Greaves won the championship in Sunday's final.

The topic of transgender athletes' involvement has been a topic of discussion in other sports.

Last month, pool player Lynne Pinches forfeited a tournament final because she refused to compete against her transgender partner Harriet Haynes.

Pinches took her lag shot to officially start the encounter, but shortly afterwards shook hands with Haynes and the referee, took away her cue and left the arena – a Pontins in Prestatyn.

Since her bold statement to withdraw from what was only her fourth final ever, Pinches has spoken out about her decision, claiming she made a statement about the fairness of allowing transgender athletes to compete against birth women .

Walking out was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life in the game,” she told the Telegraph.

“I've played for thirty years and never gotten a frame, let alone a match. This was only my fourth final ever, but the trophy or money meant nothing to me without honesty, and that's what I said to the tournament director afterwards.

'For me it's not about the money, the title or the trophy. I care about honesty. If they hadn't done that U-turn, we wouldn't be here right now. We were all so excited when they originally said there would be a strict category for biological women.”

Former Great Britain swimmer Sharron Davies meanwhile insisted that transgender athletes are making the sport 'ridiculous and horribly unfair'.

Davies revealed that the issues surrounding transgender athletes competing in the sport cause her 'a lot of frustration' and explained that removing testosterone does not prevent a 'biological advantage'.

Swim England announced in April that it had reviewed its transgender and non-binary competition policy and introduced an 'open' category for 'athletes whose birth gender is male, transgender or non-binary competitors'.

However, the World Cup swimming races intended to accommodate transgender participants were halted in October because no one was competing.

UK Athletics announced a ban on transgender women competing in the female category at all its events in March, while the UCI – cycling's world governing body – has also banned transgender women from competing in the female category at international events.

Under the UCI's old guidelines, transgender women were allowed to compete in women's races if they had lowered their testosterone levels to 2.5 nanomoles per liter.

That policy came under scrutiny in May when American Austin Killips won the Tour of the Gila, becoming the first transgender rider to triumph in an official UCI stage race.

In tennis, Martina Navratilova criticized the US Tennis Association (USTA) for its position on transgender athletes competing in women's tennis tournaments.

It comes as transgender tennis player Alicia Rowley has reportedly become the latest player to win a Women's National Tennis Championship and 'the coveted Golden Ball'.

The USTA states that trans athletes should be included and not excluded from playing the sport.

Navratilova wrote: 'Come on @USTA – women's tennis is not for failed male athletes, regardless of age.

“This is not right and it is not fair. Could this be allowed at the US Open this month? Only with self-ID? I do not think so…'