Deta Hedman has played down rumours that she pulled out of a darts tournament through illness having refused to play transgender woman Noa-Lynn van Leuven.
Hedman, 64, pulled out of her scheduled quarter-final against Holland’s Noa-Lynn van Leuven and explained: “I’m not playing against a man in a women’s event.”
Replying to a question on social media, which asked if there was any physical advantage for trans women players competing against women in darts, Hedman replied: “You ever suffered from menstrual, peri menopause, menopause, fibroids, endometriosis etc? By your response, I very much doubt it.”
She has now hit back at rumours that she had pulled out of the tournament through illness to protect her ranking points, saying: “No fake illness, I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event.”
In a Facebook post, Hedman went on to explain: “This is not about the rights or the wrongs about my decision at the Denmark Open yesterday but I want to put the record straight.
“I went to control to speak to Carsten Jappesen, who was the tournament director and asked for a private chat. We went to an area backstage and not even my other half Paul witnessed what was said. Certainly no other officials were in earshot and definitely no other players were there.”
Van Leuven, who played darts for a decade before transitioning, has previously said: “I didn’t have anything to live for [before transitioning], I wasn’t in a good space.
“Then I realised I am trans, [and] I should do something with that or I am not going to make anything out of my life. I went to the doctor, then into the programme. I was playing darts for nine years [before the transition] and I was missing something in life, then I started playing again. I missed the game, I missed the people.”
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