Russ Bray believes he has found India’s answer to Luke Littler (Image: Getty)
Russ Bray believes he has found India’s answer to The legendary referee is now a PDC ambassador after stepping down from frontline officiating, promoting the game around the world while still calling matches on the Asian Tour and in the World Series.
Having refereed matches at the highest level for almost 30 years, Bray knows a good player when he sees one, and he believes he has found one with Littler-like ability on the sub-continent. At just 14, Aryaveer Chokhani is already the best player in India, according to Bray.
That is some claim in a country of one billion people, but his 2024 performances bear that out. He is already India’s national champion and has a big victory over the country’s standard bearer, Nitin Kumar, on his record.
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Kumar has made four appearances at the including the 2025 edition, where he took a set off Grand Slam runner-up Martin Lukeman before losing 3-1.
“He’s their national champion, he’s mustard,” says Bray of Chokhani. “When I say he’s good, I mean he’s good, I’m talking absolutely, magnificently good.
“He has the right type of attitude and he’s certainly got the right type of throw. I was out there in July, in Calcutta. He played Nitin Kumar in the final of BRC, the Bengal Rowing Club Championship tournament, their big championship, and he destroyed him.
“Bear in mind, Nitin won through to play at the World Championship. Aryaveer can’t because he was only 14. He’s terrific, he really is. A very natural dart player with a very natural throw on him. He’s got a good attitude as well and has a bit of bite about him. He shows a bit of emotion too. He could be the real deal.”
Aryaveer Chokandi, who is sponsored by Mission Darts (Image: Mission Darts)
Bray is looking to get Chokhani into the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) system, which held its World Championship final at Alexandra Palace during the PDC Worlds.
Indian darts in general is growing, with record numbers attending its latest World Championship qualifying event. Bray recalls: “Last year’s [2023] qualifier had just 35 players, that was it. When you think about how big India is…
“But Nitin Kumar won the last one and there were 153 players, which was terrific. And it was put together in three weeks. It was televised and streamed, and the hall was fantastic.
“I’ve managed to get the IDC involved, the Indian Darts Council. They’re going to be putting together -type events. There’s infrastructure in India now which will involve all the major places and give everyone the chance to play darts and help it get stronger, which it will do.
Russ Bray with Aryaveer Chokandi after a tournament victory (Image: Mission Darts)
“There’s a billion-odd people in India, there’s got to be a Luke Littler, a Phil Taylor, a There must be, it’s just a matter for us to find them.”
Whether Aryaveer fulfils his potential or not, Bray has no doubt more world-class players will emerge from Asia. Given the size of the continent, unearthing them is a complex challenge while progress stalled during the pandemic.
“ set darts in Asia back a few years because they couldn’t travel within Asia,” says Bray. “Going from Singapore to Hong Kong, you had to have visas and all sorts, so no one could travel.
“And you have to look at the expense because some of these places are really expensive to travel. And Asia is vast. I’ve called darts in Mongolia. Travel from the Philippines to Mongolia, for example, costs and it’s time-consuming.
Russ Bray knows a quality player when he sees one (Image: Getty)
“And very few guys on the Asia tour are professional players. They have to take time off from work. It’s not an easy thing. Having said that, it’s getting better and better and more in-depth.”
While the talent is there, going from a modest floor tournament to a stage like Ally Pally is a huge step. However, there were some notable successes at the 2025 World Championship, including Paolo Nebrida of the Philippines making the third round.
“These players are more than capable, it’s just a case of getting them to believe it,” insists Bray. “They’re not playing top-quality players every week like the PDC players.
“They need good competition, week in, week out, and it will happen. We will find someone out in Asia. It happened in the snooker. The UK dominated for many years but then a Chinese player won something and then the sport was flooded with players. That’s what will happen with darts.”