Nitin Kumar and Ankit Goenka will represent India at the World Cup of Darts in June, having qualified through a tournament in Kolkata last weekend. Kumar, who made history in December as the first Indian player to win a match at the World Darts Championship, is set for his third appearance at the national team world championship. The 40-year-old reinforced his status as India's top player with dominant displays, winning two of the three qualifiers to secure his spot in Frankfurt.
Kumar powered to victory in Saturday's opening event, dropping just four legs across six matches and defeating Goenka 5-1 to claim the title. He then won qualification for event two in similarly impressive fashion, conceding only three legs all tournament and whitewashing Vikehelie Suohu 5-0 to make it two titles. Aayush Kothari wrapped up the weekend by winning the third qualifier, beating Goenka 5-2 in Sunday's final.
However, Kothari's win proved insufficient for him to finish second in the standings. That honor went to Goenka after he reached two finals and a semi-final across the three qualifiers. This will be India's fifth appearance at the World Cup of Darts, with the Asian nation having never progressed beyond the first round. In previous years, Kumar played with Amit Gilitwala in 2014 and 2015, Ashfaque Sayed in 2025, and Mohan Goel in another instance, while Prakash Jiwa and Amit Gilitwala represented India in 2023.
The 2026 World Cup of Darts takes place from 06/11/2026 to 06/14/2026 in Frankfurt, with a total of 40 pairs competing for the title. Northern Ireland are the defending champions, after Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney proved too strong in last year's final for the Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.
