In the run up to the end of Lakeside qualifying DW587 published a piece on the resurgence of brian Raman and the chance of him making Lakeside and living up to his former WDF No.1 billing. It looks a prescient articvle right now:
Brian Raman says he does not want to let the opportunity slip in trying to qualify for the WDF World Championships and a return to the Lakeside.
The former WDF men’s number one returned to the winners’ enclosure after three years with his victory in the Italian Open in early September.
After reaching the summit of the WDF rankings, the 27-year-old won his first PDC tour card at European Q-School and spent two years playing within the professional ranks.
The Belgian underwent shoulder surgery at the end of 2023 and, whilst admittedly not yet back to 100 per cent, is rebuilding his game and confidence with several deep runs on the WDF circuit.
A semi-final in his home event, the Belgium Open, was followed by a quarter-final at the England Classic, and then that title in Riccione, where he beat close friend Xanti Van den Bergh in the final.
Raman’s recent points haul has put him right in the mix for qualifying for Lakeside, that despite being ineligible for half of the qualification period whilst having a PDC tour card last year.
“It never really was a goal for me this year,” Raman told the Weekly Dartscast about his chances of qualifying for the WDF World Championships this year.
“I only set two goals this year and that was to qualify for the Euro Tour in Antwerp and the ADC Global Championships.
“But I kept playing WDF tournaments this year just to get match rhythm and get myself sharp and gain some confidence by winning things again.
“It didn’t go to plan until last weekend (the Italian Open), but I felt like I was getting better and better.
“It’s all coming together now. I’m so close to qualifying for Lakeside and I don’t want to let that opportunity slip.
“It would mean the world to me. Every single time when I have a good achievement I’m really proud of myself, but doing all these things when I’m not 100 per cent fit is something special.
“All my previous achievements have been when I was 100 per cent fit and when I was mentally very strong in my mind.
“I’m not at the level I used to be, but if I get to Lakeside it would be amazing.”
Raman went under the knife just before Christmas to mend his injured shoulder that had plagued the final months of his two years on the PDC tour.
Despite not being fully fit, one of the Belgian’s best runs with his tour card came in September last year when he reached the quarter-finals of the German Darts Open.
Wins against the likes of Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall took Raman through to the final session of a European Tour event for the first time and in touching distance of a spot in the PDC World Darts Championship.
But after missing out on the ProTour spots for Alexandra Palace, it was time to undergo surgery and head into 2024 with a fresh start.
“I think it was at the start of the summer the pain just stayed and it wouldn’t go away,” Raman said.
“Even when I had painkillers it was still hurting. I spoke to a specialist and started working with a physiotherapist. I did everything to try and get rid of it all and it didn’t work, so I knew I was going to need an operation.
“I never used it as an excuse. No one knew about it because I didn’t want to show any weakness to all the other players.
“Q-School was way too soon. My specialist said it would be seven weeks before I could play again and Q-School was four weeks after.
“I wanted to play just one day so I could play on the Challenge Tour, but I ended up playing all four days. I didn’t want to disappoint myself if I had one good day in the four days it could have clicked.
“It was definitely way too soon and I’m still recovering (from surgery) to this day. I never took the recovery serious until 2-3 weeks ago.
“I’m doing the physiotherapy again. I’m taking ice baths to try and get rid of the pain and the recovery is going well now.”
With such dedication surely we shall see Brian back on stage sooner rather than later.
—–ENDS—–
Orignially pubished in Darts World 587 – Autumn 2024
Words: Alex Moss
Images: WDF/Chris Sargeant
