Teenage darts player Kaya Baysal, who broke one of Luke Littler's records, has changed his sporting nationality from England to Turkey, a move that will see him miss the upcoming Junior World Championship.
At the age of 14, Baysal became the youngest player ever to win a World Darts Federation (WDF) title by claiming the Budapest Classic. The Burnley thrower was 13 days younger than Littler was when the current world champion won the Irish Open in 2021.
Switch to Turkey
Having represented England at age-group level, Baysal, now 16, has switched his allegiance to Turkey, where he has family ties. As a result, he will miss the Junior World Championship in Gibraltar, where he was due to represent England.
Baysal has turned his attention to qualifying for the main World Championship at Ally Pally via the South-East qualifier in Slovakia, which is open to Turkish players.
Baysal's statement
In a statement on X, Baysal said: "Due to the change in my nationality, I am no longer eligible to represent England. This has led to me making the decision not to return to Gibraltar this year to compete in the individual events.
"Now that my Turkish descent has been registered and authenticated by the PDC, I will instead be fully focused on preparing for the PDC World Championship qualifier held in Slovakia on November 28. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all the lads in the England team all the best."
Bright prospect
As one of the sport's brightest prospects, it would be no surprise if Baysal, who has only been playing darts for three years, reaches Ally Pally. He has already played on the famous stage after losing to Mitchell Lawrie in the Junior World Championship final in December last year.
Following his record-breaking win in Hungary last year, Baysal was tipped for big things. WDF secretary-general Nick Rolls told the BBC: "He's making rapid progress and his performances in Budapest proved that if you're good enough, you're old enough.
"Two of our previous youngest-ever winners were Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler, so Kaya is in excellent company."
Baysal is part of the Target Darts Elite 1 development programme, which also unearthed Littler. Both players are sponsored by Target Darts, while Littler's career is also managed by the manufacturer.
