title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: Director Anthony Mandler filmed the music video for "Only Girl (In the World)" at a location two hours from Los Angeles. Rihanna told JustJared.com that the video was filmed in a "big landscape" so she was the only person in the frame, echoing the song's title. The singer is also "frolicking in a red field and lying in a bed of flowers." The video features large balloons in different colours, a swing hanging from the sky and a tree with multi-colored lights. Rihanna's outfits include a mohair sweater, a floral miniskirt and a white-bra-and-boyshorts two-piece.


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: "Entertainment Weekly" writer Tanner Stransky praised the video's simplicity, noting that it seems "as if Rihanna is speaking directly to you, the viewer, and she is your one and only amid swallowing rolling, beautiful, swallowing landscapes. It's an effect that makes you focus squarely on [Rihanna], who's ensconced in flirty outfits." According to Joyce Lee of CBS, Rihanna appeared to have progressed from the "edgy" music videos of the "Rated R" singles to a more feminine, colourful tone. Seth Sommerfield of "Spin" echoed Lee's comments, calling it "whimsical [and] beautiful". "Billboard" reviewer Jason Lipshutz described the tree with flashing lights as "surreal imagery."


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: The song has appeared on the videogame "Grand Theft Auto V" and the 2015 DreamWorks Animation movie "Home".


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: Rihanna performed "Only Girl (In the World)" and a solo version of "What's My Name?" on "Saturday Night Live" in New York City on October 30, 2010. The next day, she flew to London to perform the song on "The X Factor". On November 7 she performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid. Two days later, Rihanna sang "Only Girl (In the World)" on the Italian version of "The X Factor" in a floral-print bikini, boots and a red pigtail. The next day she flew to France to sing the song on "Le Grand Journal", on a set covered with white balloons.


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: The singer returned to London on November 11 to record an interview for "The Graham Norton Show", which included a live performance of "Only Girl (In the World)". Rihanna opened the American Music Awards with a medley of songs from "Loud". She began with an a cappella version of "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)", sitting on a stylized tree of lights above "a field of sable-colored blades of grass." Rihanna then sang a solo version of "What's My Name?" and a short version of "Only Girl (In the World)". According to Mawuse Ziegbe of MTV News, the singer "kicked up the island theme" as drummers in tribal dress circled her.


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: Rihanna performed a short version of "Only Girl (In the World)" at the 31st Brit Awards on February 15, 2011, as part of a medley with two other singles from "Loud": "S&M" and "What's My Name?". She had planned to perform "S&M" only (to coincide with its United Kingdom release), but was asked by the British Phonographic Industry to "tone down the sexual references in the song's lyrics". Rihanna was reportedly angered at the request and a related one to perform a different song. She made the changes because the BPI wanted to avoid complaints like those received after the seventh-series finale of "The X Factor" on December 11, 2010. Rihanna performed "Only Girl (In the World)", "California King Bed", "What's My Name?" and "S&M" on NBC's May 27, 2011 "Today" as part of its summer concert series. The song, which was included on the Loud, 777 and the Diamonds World Tours, was the opener for her performance at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on May 24, 2012. She also performed the song at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.


title: Only Girl (In the World)

text: Katy Perry covered "Only Girl (In the World)" as part of an acoustic mash-up with Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" on her California Dreams Tour (2011). Ellie Goulding covered the song during her appearance on "Radio 1's Live Lounge", and the cover was the B-side of her single "Lights".


title: Customer lifetime value

text: In marketing, customer lifetime value (CLV or often CLTV), lifetime customer value (LCV), or life-time value (LTV) is a prognostication of the net profit


title: Customer lifetime value

text: contributed to the whole future relationship with a customer. The prediction model can have varying levels of sophistication and accuracy, ranging from a crude heuristic to the use of complex predictive analytics techniques.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Customer lifetime value can also be defined as the monetary value of a customer relationship, based on the present value of the projected future cash flows from the customer relationship. Customer lifetime value is an important concept in that it encourages firms to shift their focus from quarterly profits to the long-term health of their customer relationships. Customer lifetime value is an important metric because it represents an upper limit on spending to acquire new customers. For this reason it is an important element in calculating payback of advertising spent in marketing mix modeling.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: One of the first accounts of the term customer lifetime value is in the 1988 book "Database Marketing", which includes detailed worked examples. Early adopters of customer lifetime value models in the 1990s include Edge Consulting and BrandScience.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The purpose of the customer lifetime value metric is to assess the financial value of each customer. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers are quoted as saying, “some customers are more equal than others.” Customer lifetime value differs from customer profitability or CP (the difference between the revenues and the costs associated with the customer relationship during a specified period) in that CP measures the past and CLV looks forward. As such, CLV can be more useful in shaping managers’ decisions but is much more difficult to quantify. While quantifying CP is a matter of carefully reporting and summarizing the results of past activity, quantifying CLV involves forecasting future activity.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Present value is the discounted sum of future cash flows: each future cash flow is multiplied by a carefully selected number less than one, before being added together. The multiplication factor accounts for the way the value of money is discounted over time. The time-based value of money captures the intuition that everyone would prefer to get paid sooner rather than later but would prefer to pay later rather than sooner. The multiplication factors depend on the discount rate chosen (10% per year as an example) and the length of time before each cash flow occurs. For example, money received ten years from now must be discounted more than money received five years in the future.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: CLV applies the concept of present value to cash flows attributed to the customer relationship. Because the present value of any stream of future cash flows is designed to measure the single lump sum value today of the future stream of cash flows, CLV will represent the single lump sum value today of the customer relationship. Even more simply, CLV is the monetary value of the customer relationship to the firm. It is an upper limit on what the firm would be willing to pay to acquire the customer relationship as well as an upper limit on the amount the firm would be willing to pay to avoid losing the customer relationship. If we view a customer relationship as an asset of the firm, CLV would present the monetary value of that asset.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: One of the major uses of CLV is customer segmentation, which starts with the understanding that not all customers are equally important. CLV-based segmentation model allows the company to predict the most profitable group of customers, understand those customers' common characteristics, and focus more on them rather than on less profitable customers. CLV-based segmentation can be combined with a Share of Wallet (SOW) model to identify "high CLV but low SOW" customers with the assumption that the company's profit could be maximized by investing marketing resources in those customers.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Customer Lifetime Value metrics are used mainly in relationship-focused businesses, especially those with customer contracts. Examples include banking and insurance services, telecommunications and most of the business-to-business sector. However, the CLV principles may be extended to transactions-focused categories such as consumer packaged goods by incorporating stochastic purchase models of individual or aggregate behavior. In either case, retention has a decisive impact on CLV, since low retention rates result in Customer Lifetime Value barely increasing over time.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: When margins and retention rates are constant, the following formula can be used to calculate the lifetime value of a customer relationship:


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The model for customer cash flows treats the firm's customer relationships as something of a leaky bucket. Each period, a fraction (1 less the retention rate) of the firm's customers leave and are lost for good.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The CLV model has only three parameters: (1) constant margin (contribution after deducting variable costs including retention spending) per period, (2) constant retention probability per period, and (3) discount rate. Furthermore, the model assumes that in the event that the customer is not retained, they are lost for good. Finally, the model assumes that the first margin will be received (with probability equal to the retention rate) at the end of the first period.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The one other assumption of the model is that the firm uses an infinite horizon when it calculates the present value of future cash flows. Although no firm actually has an infinite horizon, the consequences of assuming one are discussed in the following.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Under the assumptions of the model, CLV is a multiple of the margin. The multiplicative factor represents the present value of the expected length (number of periods) of the customer relationship. When retention equals 0, the customer will never be retained, and the multiplicative factor is zero. When retention equals 1, the customer is always retained, and the firm receives the margin in perpetuity. The present value of the margin in perpetuity turns out to be the Margin divided by the Discount Rate. For retention values in between, the CLV formula tells us the appropriate multiplier.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The numerator represents the average monthly profit per customer, and dividing by the churn rate sums the geometric series representing the chance the customer will still be around in future months.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Forecasting accuracy and difficulty in tracking customers over time may affect CLV calculation process.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: where formula_3 is yearly gross contribution per customer, formula_4 is the (relevant) retention costs per customer per year (this formula assumes the retention activities are paid for each mid year and they only affect those who were retained in the previous year), formula_5 is the horizon (in years), formula_6 is the yearly retention rate, formula_7 is the yearly discount rate. In addition to retention costs, firms are likely to invest in cross-selling activities which are designed to increase the yearly profit of a customer over time.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: It is often helpful to estimate customer lifetime value with a simple model to make initial assessments of customer segments and targeting. If formula_3 is found to be relatively fixed across periods, CLV can be expressed as a simpler model assuming an infinite economic life (i.e., formula_9 ) :


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Note: No CLV methodology has been independently audited by the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) according to MMAP (Marketing Metric Audit Protocol).


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Customer lifetime value has intuitive appeal as a marketing concept, because in theory it represents exactly how much each customer is worth in monetary terms, and therefore exactly how much a marketing department should be willing to spend to acquire each customer, especially in direct response marketing.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Lifetime value is typically used to judge the appropriateness of the costs of acquisition of a customer. For example, if a new customer costs $50 to acquire (COCA, or cost of customer acquisition), and their lifetime value is $60, then the customer is judged to be profitable, and acquisition of additional similar customers is acceptable.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The disadvantages of CLV do not generally stem from CLV modeling per se, but from its incorrect application.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The most accurate CLV predictions are made using the net present value (NPV) of each future net profit source, so that the revenue to be received from the customer in the future is recognized at the future value of money. However, NPV calculations require additional sophistication including maintenance of a discount rate, which leads most organizations to instead calculate CLV using the nominal (non-discounted) figures. Nominal CLV predictions are biased slightly high, scaling higher the farther into the future the revenues are expected from customers.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: A common mistake is for a CLV prediction to calculate the total revenue or even gross margin associated with a customer. However, this can cause CLV to be multiples of their actual value, and instead need to be calculated as the full net profit expected from the customer.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Often ecommerce reporting systems will report Lifetime Revenue (LTR), rather than Lifetime Value based on net profit, due to the difficulty most ecommerce platforms have generating an accurate profit figure (i.e. calculating accurate sold item costs, marketing costs and delivery costs) on an order by order basis. Lifetime Revenue can still be a very valuable and useful metric for ecommerce stores to report on in order to measure site performance.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: Opponents often cite the inaccuracy of a CLV prediction to argue they should not be used to drive significant business decisions. For example, major drivers to the value of a customer such as the nature of the relationship are often not available as appropriately structured data and thus not included in the formula.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: More predictors, such as specific demographics of a customer group, may have an effect that is intuitively obvious to an experienced marketer but are often omitted from CLV predictions and thus cause inaccuracies in certain customer segments.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: The biggest problem with how many CLV models are actually used is that they tend to deny the very idea that marketing works (i.e., that marketing will change customer behavior). Low-value customers can be turned into high-value customers by effective marketing. Many CLV models use incorrect mathematics in that they do not take account of the value of a far greater number of middle-value customers, over-prioritizing a smaller number of high value customers. Additionally, these high-value customers may be saturated (i.e., not have the ability to buy any more coffee or insurance), may be the most expensive group to serve, and may be the most expensive group to reach by communication. The use of survey data is a viable way to collect information on potential customers.


title: Customer lifetime value

text: A Customer Life Time Value is the output of a model, not an input. If you change the model inputs (e.g., let's say marketing is effective and you increase your retention rates), your average CLV will increase. However, when you engage with customers in such way which cause detraction, the opposite may happen and average CLV will go down (e.g. let's say the invoicing department sends them the wrong or unclear invoices).


title: Laya (actress)

text: Laya (born 21 October 1981) is an Indian actress and Kuchipudi dancer known for her work primarily in Telugu films, alongside a few Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films. Laya first appeared as a child actor in "Bhadram Koduko" (1992) and later she started working as a lead actress with "Swayamvaram" (1999). She won two Nandi Awards for Best Actress in consecutive years for "Manoharam" (2000) and "Preminchu" (2001).


title: Laya (actress)

text: Laya was born on 21 October 1981 in a Telugu Bramhin family in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. She attended Nirmala High School, Vijayawada. Her mother was a music teacher in Nirmala High School, Vijayawada and her father was a doctor. During her school days, she was a state state level Chess player. Later, she moved to Hyderabad and participated in multiple stage shows as a classical dancer, having performed in more than 50 stage shows. She has a bachelor's degree in Computer Applications. She married Dr. Sri Ganesh Gorty in 2006 and settled in Los Angeles, California. The couple has a daughter, Sloka and a son, Vachan.


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Bridget was created as "a cute character" by Daisuke Ishiwatari, who wanted to vary the cast of "Guilty Gear X2", where she was presented as a cross-dressing but self-identifying boy. Due to the character's appearance, Bridget was initially described as female by video game press. When they became aware of her biological sex, reviewers included Bridget on lists of best androgynous and cross-dressing characters, and debated her sexual orientation. Bridget has become a popular character among gamers, and critics have described her as "a memorable character" in the series. Critics praised her appearance in "Guilty Gear Strive" in which she affirmed her identity as a trans woman.


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Ishiwatari created Bridget as "a cute character" since "there were already other good looking and tough characters", but Ishiwatari also "wanted something unconventional" to differentiate Bridget from other fighting games' cute characters; he and his staff decided it "would be interesting to make the character a guy."


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Ishawatari also said that Bridget was a difficult character to animate; she "has double the frames of animation" due to her yo-yo's movements. He spent "a very long, very frustrating time trying to get the animation to work", rejecting many versions before studio staff made Bridget "look natural".


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Bridget was introduced in the third installment of the series, "Guilty Gear X2" (2002), as a cross-dressing boy wearing a nun's habit. Bridget was born male, one of twin brothers named and raised by their parents as a girl in a British village. They do this to protect her, since the villagers believe that identical twins bring bad luck. Bridget nonetheless grows up identifying as a boy and, determined to prove the superstition wrong and bring home riches, becomes a bounty hunter who fights with a yo-yo and , Bridget's mechanical, oversized teddy bear. In "Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus" (2008), since Bridget feels she has proven her masculinity by defeating several opponents, she decides to become an entertainer. Although she tries to recruit Venom for his talent at pool and I-No for her ability to play electric guitar, both refuse her suggestion. Without money, in one ending Bridget works as a waitress in Jam Kuradoberi's restaurant. In an alternate ending she returns to her birth village, finds that her twin brother has disappeared, and begins searching for him.


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Bridget is also a playable character in the spin-offs "Guilty Gear Isuka" (2004), "Dust Strikers" (2006), and "Judgment" (2006).


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: In 2022, Bridget returned as a DLC character for "Guilty Gear Strive". English promotional material such as the "Strive" website and Bridget's official moveset guide video avoided referring to Bridget with any pronouns. Bridget begins "Strive"s arcade mode storyline presenting as a boy, as Bridget identified in previous games, but is now questioning this cisgender identity. In conversations with Goldlewis Dickinson and Ky Kiske, Bridget expresses feeling unhappy but afraid of making the wrong choice, and the other characters relate to Bridget by sharing their own experiences of hiding secrets and of having the courage to reveal them and live as one's "true self", drawing a comparison to Bridget hiding her transgender identity. At the end of her hard-difficulty mode story, Bridget comes out as a woman to Goldlewis and Ky Kiske.


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: In a 2013 poll conducted by Arc System Works, Bridget was voted as the most popular character from the series. Eurogamer called Bridget "[o]ne of "Guilty Gear"s more memorable characters", while Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft named her "not only one of "Guilty Gear"s most memorable characters [...] but also one of gaming's", calling her "an iconic character". On the other hand, several websites criticized her appearance and outfit. Bob Mackey of 1UP.com described Bridget's costume as "a cruel prank to question our sexuality and true level of perversion. It's like gaming's version of "The Crying Game"—but with more crying."


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Though the character identified as male during the events of "Guilty Gear X2", Bridget was described as a woman in early reports, and has been the subject of discussion about her gender identity because of her androgynous appearance. IGN first described Bridget as a "kooky cross-dressing yoyo-wielding nun character", while GamesRadar called her "a saucy Catholic nun with a penis". She ranked fourth on ZoominGames' Top 5 "Transsexual characters in games" (a ranking that was made before Bridget officially became transgender) and UGO listed her among the "Best Crossdressers" in all media. Further, "The Escapist" deemed Bridget a pioneer for being a cross-dressing heroic player character, in contrast to video games' many cross-dressing and transgender antagonists, such as "Street Fighter"s Poison.


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Although Bridget's sexual orientation is undisclosed, several websites have included the character in LGBT-related articles. On other hand, Destructoid featured an article "to argue the heterosexuality of Bridget." Despite the controversy, GayGamer.net, JeuxvideoPC and Destructoid agree that Bridget is appreciated by fans; on the Internet, pictures of the character appear with captions such as "Bridget made me gay" and "Everyone is gay for Bridget". This was cited by GamesRadar's staff, which listed her among "characters we'd go gay for". When John McCain sponsored a bill which would require ISPs and possibly websites to alert the government about illegal images of minors—including cartoons—"Wired" published an article entitled "McCain Not Gay For Bridget".


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Gamasutra's Zoran Iovanovici ascribed Bridget's popularity to the fact that she is "ultra feminized", adding that "[i]t's no surprise that Bridget has become a fan favorite over the years." Stephen Kelley wrote on VG Chartz that Bridget "appears to be a "moe" style cute anime character", but "[d]ressed in the provocative nun costume Bridget is suddenly a creepy sex object." Pride St. Clair posted on the "Piki Geek" blog that Bridget "seemed to be playing towards several prevalent anime fetishes, including the innocent girl and the religious figure who is at once both desirable and chaste", saying that despite seeming "designed as a trap ... Bridget is a sort of touchstone, a basis for a productive discussion about the role gender and fetishism plays in fighting games and modern Japanese culture."


title: Bridget (Guilty Gear)

text: Bridget's debut as a DLC character for "Guilty Gear Strive" was her first playable appearance in 10 years. Kenneth Shepard of "Fanbyte" speculated that her extended absence may have been due to uncertainty over how to address her backstory, which he said was presented with homophobic and transphobic tropes in her prior appearances. Her announcement prompted Josh Tolentino of "Siliconera" to wonder if the developers planned to change her characterization with respect to gender presentation, noting that her official biography on Arc System Works' website avoided using gendered personal pronouns. Critics praised her storyline in which she struggled with her gender identity and finally came out as a trans woman. Shepard acknowledged the challenge of sorting through Bridget's complicated backstory to tell a respectful coming out narrative. Renata Price of "Waypoint" drew parallels between Bridget's evolution and the increasing presence and acceptance of queer players in the fighting game community. She found Bridget's circuitous path to self-acceptance to be an asset, calling it "messy and genuine in the way that real queer stories are". Price and Shepard connected Bridget's story to Arc System Works' recent treatment of Testament, who identified as nonbinary in a prior DLC for "Strive". Some fans alleged that Bridget's trans identity was invented by the translation and localization team and was not present in the Japanese version of the game. In response, series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari and "Strive" director Akira Katano confirmed that Bridget self-identifies as a woman and uses "she/her" pronouns on the official "Guilty Gear" website.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: Tomasz Schafernaker (born 8 January 1979) is a Polish-British meteorologist who currently works for BBC Weather.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: Tomasz Schafernaker was born on 8 January 1979 in Gdańsk, Poland, and attended school both in his native Poland and in Britain. He was educated at the independent school St. John's College, Southsea, in Portsmouth, where he took A-levels in mathematics, physics and art, followed by the University of Reading where he gained a BSc (Hons) in Meteorology.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: After joining the Met Office, he trained as a meteorologist. He joined the BBC Weather Centre in 2000, working as a broadcast assistant, and became a presenter in the same year; this made him the youngest man to present the BBC Weather. He spent some time giving BBC regional forecasts across the UK, and presented on BBC World during the winter of 2003.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: From 2004 until 2005, Schafernaker studied at the Met Office college in Exeter, Devon, and trained as a forecaster for aviation. He also worked for a time at ITV, as well as the London Weather Centre.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: Schafernaker rejoined the BBC in 2006. He became famous for raising "the finger" towards, and after a gentle tease from, the BBC news presenter Simon McCoy, in the belief that he was off camera. A clip of his shocked and horrified facial expression has received more than 5.5 million hits on the video sharing website YouTube. After a set of cost-cutting measures and choice of a smaller core of national weather presenters, he was removed from broadcasting on the BBC in 2010. He was later named Best TV Weather Presenter at TRIC Awards 2010.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: Still working for the Met Office, Schafernaker presented on various broadcast projects for various UK networks including The Weather Channel, Discovery Channel and Channel Four. On 29 May 2012 he joined BBC South East as a weather presenter, joining the freelance Kaddy Lee-Preston. Schafernaker returned to BBC national broadcasts on 19 January 2013. He normally forecasts on the BBC News Channel, Radio 4 or Radio 5 Live. In 2017 he was voted the most popular weather presenter in the UK in a public poll.


title: Tomasz Schafernaker

text: Schafernaker posed for the front cover of "Attitude Active" magazine in January 2010, wearing only shorts.


title: Kirby Bliss Blanton

text: Kirby Bliss Blanton (born October 24, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Kirby in the comedy film "Project X" and as Amy in the horror film "The Green Inferno".


title: Kirby Bliss Blanton

text: The youngest of four children, she grew up in The Woodlands, Texas, and started her career doing modeling and commercials in nearby Houston. After doing some month-long stints in Los Angeles, she moved there permanently with her mother. Her first acting role was in the Nickelodeon series "Unfabulous" in 2004. She also played small parts on shows such as "Zoey 101" and "Hannah Montana", and landed her first feature film role in 2007's horror film "Scar". She later played Kirby in the 2012 comedy film "Project X".


title: Kirby Bliss Blanton

text: In 2014, it was announced that Blanton would be a featured model in Tyler Shields's photography exhibition "Provocateur". In 2015, Blanton was named one of the top ten "Houston Scream Queens".


title: Kirby Bliss Blanton

text: Her first name was given because her parents expected her to be a boy. Her middle name, Bliss, is her mother's maiden name.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at these events. It plays with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: Background and early years: The background behind the creation of the Indian Olympic Association was related to India's participation in the 1920 and 1924 Olympics. After the 1920 Games, the committee sending the team to these games met, and, on the advice of Sir Dorab Tata, invited Dr. Noehren (Physical Education Director of YMCA India) to be secretary, along with AS Bhagwat, of the provisional Indian Olympic Committee; Dorab Tata would serve as its president. Subsequently, in 1923–24, a provisional All India Olympic Committee was formed, and the All India Olympic Games (that later became the National Games of India) were held in Feb 1924. Eight athletes from these games were selected to represent India at the 1924 Paris Olympics, accompanied by manager Harry Crowe Buck. This gave impetus to the development and institutionalization of sports in India, and, in 1927, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), was created at the initiative of Harry Crowe Buck and Dr. A. G. Noehren (both of the Madras (YMCA) College of Physical Education). Sir Dorab Tata was important in financing and supporting the movement and became the first Indian Olympic Association president in 1927. Messrs Buck and Noehren travelled across India and helped many states organise their Olympic associations. Noehren was the first Secretary and G. D. Sondhi was the first assistant secretary of the Indian Olympic Association, and, after Noehren resigned in 1938, Sondhi and S.M. Moinul Haq became the Secretary and Joint Secretary of the Indian Olympic Association.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: And so the Indian Olympic Association was formed in 1927, and since that year was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee as India's national Olympic organisation. In 1928, Maharaja Bhupindra Singh took over as Indian Olympic Association president.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: The Indian Olympic Association thus undertook wider outreach with several national sports federations, and essentially became a clearing house that coordinated the sending of multiple sports teams – each selected by their respective sports federations – to the Olympics.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: National sports federations are categorized in two categories i.e. Olympic Sports and Other Recognized Sports


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: On 26 April 2011, after the arrest of its president Suresh Kalmadi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra was the acting president of the IOA up to 5 December 2012. The election of Lalit Bhanot as Secretary General was considered controversial by some due to his alleged involvement in the Commonwealth Games Scam.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: On 4 December 2012, the International Olympic Committee suspended the IOA on the basis of corruption, government interference, and not following guidelines of the IOC. Several members of the IOA have been charged with crimes. The IOA was formally banned for not following the Olympic Charter in their elections, instead following the Indian government's Sports Code. The IOA held elections under the Indian Sports Code due to a directive from the Delhi High Court. On 15 May 2013, International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to lift the ban on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as Indian representatives from the government and sports bodies reached an agreement with IOC officials. India still did not have its three competitors play under the national flag at the Winter 2014 Olympics. On 9 February, an election was held to choose a head of the IOA. Abhay Singh Chautala and Lalit Bhanot were ineligible due to having court charges against them. With the support of Abhay Singh Chautala, the president of the World Squash Federation, Narayana Ramachandran, was instead elected.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: On 11 February 2014, the International Olympic Committee revoked the ban enforced on Indian Olympic Association. As a result, India returned to the Olympic fold after 14-months.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: The IOA is present on social media, with the Press Office of the Committee running an official Facebook page, as well as Twitter and Instagram accounts.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: The IOA debuted a new logo and new campaign tag #EkIndiaTeamIndia in 2020, this was celebrated on India's independence day 15 August 2020. The previous logo was created in 1924 at the inception of the IOA, the logo emphasized the Star of India. Through symbols of the Tiraṅgā the new logo celebrates the pride, dignity and lifetime of determined hard work given by India's finest athletes. The logo was created by Smitten an international design firm founded in Chennai by Smita Rajgopal.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: From the 2016 Summer Olympics, Olympic medallists and their coaches have been given advance consideration for the National Sports Awards if they have not already received one.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: As of 2021, the Indian Olympic Association recognises Olympic medallists with the following cash prizes: for gold medallists, for silver and for bronze. Coaches of Olympic medallists receive , and , respectively.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: Olympic medallists are rewarded by the Government of India with the following cash prizes as of 2021: for gold medallists, for silver and for bronze.


title: Indian Olympic Association

text: At the state/territorial level, Olympians receive cash awards of various amounts, depending on their home region.


title: Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen

text: "Ogre Battle" was ported to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation, with enhancements made to the original gameplay. It was later released for Virtual Console, and mobile phones. A successor, titled "Tactics Ogre", was released in Japan in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.


text: "Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen" begins in the outskirts of the Zeteginan Empire, twenty-four years after the founding of the empire through conquest. The main character is leading a revolution against this empire, which has turned to evil through the use of black magic by the mage Rashidi.


text: The game begins with the seer Warren using tarot cards to ask a series of questions to determine the player's suitability as leader of the revolution. There are several questions out of a fixed set which are randomly asked, each of which is associated with one of the twenty-two Major Arcana cards of divinatory tarot. Each question has three possible answers: one righteous, one evil, and one neutral. After the player finishes answering the questions, Warren wishes luck for the revolution and the game begins. The player's answers to these questions determine the Lord's (main character) abilities and starting units.


text: "Ogre Battle" mixes movement elements of a real-time tactics game with the character development and combat of a role-playing game. The game consists of a series of battles in which the player deploys units to fight against enemies and liberate occupied towns and temples. A variety of character types can be recruited, ranging from common to rare, many of whom can change class with experience points. As a result, the character will either evolve or become an entirely new soldier with different abilities.


text: Potential recruits consist of several historical and mythological figures, including knights, ninjas, wizards, angels, griffins, witches, and others. The player is free to organize multiple units of five fighters or fewer, with the limit being lower when larger characters are present. Additionally, time passes on the tactical map, alternating between day and night. In accordance with this element, vampires and werewolves will only be seen in the evening, with the former appearing in coffins during the day, and the latter appearing as normal men.


text: Each stage has a boss whose defeat signals the completion of the mission. Both during and after the stage, towns and temples can be visited to gain information or items. The game also features an alignment system, both for the revolution as a whole (reputation) and for individual characters (alignment and charisma). These parameters are influenced by how the game is played.


text: There are twenty-five main stages in the game, with some variation possible in how the stages are played. There are also four hidden stages accessible through the main game with an additional stage as an easter egg. The game can be completed without finishing all the stages. There are thirteen different endings to the main game, depending on the conduct of the player during the course of the game.


text: "Ogre Battle" has two main modes of play, the world map and the tactical map. On the world map, the player can manage their characters, changing their class, re-ordering them into different units, and erasing them. The player can also save and load the game, as well as manage items. In addition, the world map is where the player chooses the next stage, which can either be an already completed stage or a new stage.


text: When the player has selected a stage, action shifts to the tactical map. Here, the player can deploy units and move them around. Each unit has a cost associated with it, which must be paid to deploy the unit and every day at noon thereafter. There is a limit on the number of units that can be deployed at one time. Characters with high alignment fight better during the day, while those with low alignment fight better at night. There are also towns and temples that can be liberated by units. Upon liberation, a random tarot card is drawn, which can affect either the liberating unit's statistics, the statistics of all units on the battlefield or the reputation parameter. In addition, liberated towns provide income every noon, which can be used to buy items (some towns have shops that can be used when a unit is stationed there) or pay for unit costs. In addition, there are often hidden towns, temples, or items that can be found by moving a unit close to the appropriate location.


text: Each stage has a number of enemy units that attempt to re-capture the player's towns and temples. If a player's unit gets too close to an enemy unit, a battle ensues. During a battle, the view shifts to a close-up view of the two combatant units. Characters alternate taking actions with the battle ending after one round of combat (many units can attack multiple times per round). The unit that caused the most damage is the victor and forces the other unit to retreat.


text: During a battle, a player does not directly control their unit, but selects a tactic for the unit to follow (Best, Strong, Weak, Leader), which the characters follow when choosing whom to attack. The player can also use stored tarot cards, which can cause damage or have a special effect. The Lovers card will cause all affected enemies to fight for the player; the Moon card will change the formation of the enemy unit, causing them to attack differently; the Fool card will remove all enemies but the leader from battle. The player also has the option of retreating from any encounter.


text: The game uses a moral alignment system that not only affects the gameplay but also where tactical and strategic decisions affect the outcome of a non-linear branching storyline, which is affected by several factors, such as the moral alignments of the troops used to liberate a city, whether to keep certain liberated cities guarded, making popular or unpopular decisions, concentrating power among just a few units, making deals with thieves, and a general sense of justice. These factors lead to one of 13 possible endings, alongside other factors, such as how many and which units are used, how battles are fought, the army's reputation, player character's alignment and charisma, and secrets discovered.


text: In "Ogre Battle", alignment indicates how good or evil a character is. The scale runs from 0 to 100; the higher the number, the more 'good' the character is. When characters with high alignment liberate towns, it will raise the player's reputation (although a high charisma is also recommended). Characters with high alignment will be weak against dark attacks but strong against white attacks. They will fight better in the day and worse at night. Alignment can be raised by defeating enemies whose level is higher than the player's, defeating ghosts and other dark creatures, and drawing tarot cards that raise the alignment statistic. When the player's alignment is high, it is (somewhat counter-intuitively) recommended not to exceed the level of his or her foes. Alignment will drop when the player defeats high alignment characters, such as clerics and angels, or characters of a lower level. Thus, it is important for players who want to keep a high alignment to keep the fights "fair".


text: Low alignment characters are considered more "evil". Consequently, they fight better at night and are weak against light attacks. Liberating towns with these types of characters will lower the player's reputation (especially if they possess a low charisma statistic). A player whose alignment is relatively high will not necessarily be penalized for employing units of low-alignment soldiers; rather, a mix of high- and low-alignment fighters results in the most potent fighting force. Provided the player keeps low- and high-alignment characters in their own separate units, and only liberates towns with high-alignment units, he or she can still see the best ending. Conversely, one who wishes to drop his alignment can continually capture towns with a few high-level, low-alignment units. For example, one can employ a few decidedly low-alignment units to slaughter enemy units, reserving high-alignment units for liberation purposes only.


text: One of the most important aspects of "Ogre Battle" is the class system. Each character has a class that determines the characteristics of that character. There are several different classes available in "Ogre Battle", but any given character is limited to a subset of class changes depending on their race. For instance, human characters can either be male (fighter) or female (amazon). There are also dragons, wyrms, pumpkins, angels, giants, hellhounds, octopuses, hawk men, demons, griffins, mermaids, golems and undead class trees. Within a tree, there are usually level, alignment, and often charisma requirements. In addition, some classes also require the use of a special item. Finally, the two human class trees are unique in that they have the most branches in their tree and characters can be demoted to move along a different path.


text: Apart from statistic increases at level-up, a character's class also determines how the character moves and fights. Each character has a terrain type where they move fastest and fight the best (some classes also get additional attacks), with flying characters able to move quickly over all terrain. In addition, each class has a set of attacks characters can perform, ranging from physical attacks targeting one opponent to magical attacks targeting a whole unit.


text: Twenty-five years prior to the beginning of the game, Empress Endora conquered the continent of Zetegenia. During her reign, a resistance organization called the Liberation Army forms to free the continent from her rule.


text: At the beginning of the game, the protagonist, whose name, gender, and other characteristics are chosen by the player, takes command of the Liberation Army. Throughout the course of the game, the protagonist is joined by various other characters, such as Lans Hamilton, a knight who served the king of Zenobia until the king's death; Warren Omon, a wizard with the ability to divine the future; Tristan, the rightful prince of Zenobia; and many others.


text: After the Empress is slain, it is discovered that she was manipulated by Rashidi, a dark wizard in the Empress’ employ. The protagonist defeats him, but before Rashidi dies, he uses his blood to release Demundza, the king of the Underworld who was sealed away after the first great Ogre Battle. The protagonist and their army manage to seal Demundza away again before he can become too powerful. There are multiple outcomes to the story depending on various factors such as the protagonist's alignment, their reputation, and which characters they choose to recruit.


text: "Ogre Battle" was created by Yasumi Matsuno, who joined developer Quest Corporation in 1989; the company at the time had two development teams, one working on an action game at the time, and Matsuno ended up leading design for the second team. He began development on "Ogre Battle" in the summer of 1991. Wanting to make his mark in the company, he pitched a real-time tactical game, as these were uncommon in the Japanese gaming market at the time. Matsuno acted as the game's director and designer. The producer was Quest CEO Makoto Tokugawa. The less conventional gameplay approach was also meant to compete against "Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy", which dominated the RPG market. Matsuno had never played a tactical game before this, but on staff recommendations played "Nobunaga's Ambition" to get a feel for the genre. Matsuno grew frustrated with the corporate structure of Quest during production on the game as it underwent restructuring and he had to take on the sole burden of reorganizing his team.


text: Matsuno created "Ogre Battle" as the fifth chapter in a seven-chapter "Ogre Battle Saga". His design for the world had been with him since before joining Quest, and he added to it during his work on other titles before pitching "Ogre Battle". The story was written as a simplistic high fantasy battle between good and evil with a demonic enemy and little backstory, a decision Matsuno regretted due to its unrealistic tone. The central character names were recycled by Matsuno from the names he gave a party in the game "Master of Monsters", which he had enjoyed playing. A challenge faced by the team was creating a 3D-like display on the limited SNES hardware. The angled perspective on battles was to contrast against the common first-person or overhead top-down views of other RPGs at the time. The graphics were handled by Hiroshi Minagawa and Akihiko Yoshida. Yoshida later described the game's character designs as "Disney-like". "Ogre Battle" was Yoshida's second title while working at Quest, having first done artwork for "Musashi no Bōken". In addition to character art and sprite work, Yoshida also designed the cover art, a choice made to ensure high quality within budget.


text: The music was co-composed by Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Hayato Matsuo. It was Sakimoto's first attempt at orchestral music, as he had previously only done with in techno and electronic music. He simulated an orchestral using a Roland SC-55, using an instrument dictionary with accompanying sample CD Iwata bought to replicate the various sounds. His work on "Ogre Battle" informed much of his later compositional style. Matsuo described the whole experience of composing for the game as informative, as each composer informed the other's work.


text: A soundtrack album for the game was released in April 1993 by Datam Polystar. An arrange album was also released. A further compilation arrange album, featuring tracks from both "Ogre Battle" and its sequel, was released in October 1996.


text: "Ogre Battle" was released in Japan by Quest on March 12, 1993. The game's title is derived from "Ogre Battle" and "The March of the Black Queen", two songs by the British rock band Queen, of which Matsuno was a fan. The SNES version was published by the American branch of Enix in May 1995. The localization was produced by Robert Jerauld, who worked on all of Enix America's releases. Jerauld remembered "Ogre Battle" as one of his favorite releases. There was no official European release. In 1998, an updated edition of the Super NES version was released by Quest as a download for the Nintendo Power Cartridge in Japan. The Super NES version was re-released in North America on the Wii's Virtual Console on March 2, 2009 for 800 Nintendo points ($8). It was also released as an import in the PAL regions on July 3. The SNES version was ported to mobile devices with additional downloading maps and released in Japan by Square Enix for FOMA on September 1, 2010, and for EZweb on May 12, 2011. This version included access to wallpapers and ringtones promoting the of "Tactics Ogre".


text: A PlayStation port was developed by Quest and published by Artdink on September 27, 1996. This version was localized into English under the title "Ogre Battle: Limited Edition" by Atlus USA in July 1997. A regional eighteen month exclusivity deal formed part of the agreement. This version features larger text boxes. It lacks the voice acting and graphical detail for the units that were included in the Saturn game. It adds the ability to save at any point (the Super NES version only allows saving at the end of each chapter). The Japan-only Sega Saturn port was developed and published by Riverhillsoft on November 1, 1996. This version, in addition to graphical upgrades, incorporates limited voice acting. The port was produced by Junji Shigematsu. A priority was ensuring the game ran with minimal lag, which was a potential issue caused by the new CD storage.


text: Originally planned to have a relatively small 200,000 copy print run, encouragement by Nintendo after a positive press showing had Matsuno persuading Quest to double that number. The game sold through all 400,000 copies shortly after release, turning it into a commercial success. The North American printing by Enix was limited, apparently just 25,000 units, selling out quickly and prompting several reorders. It consequently became a collector's item, with unboxed cartridges selling for over $150 each in 1997. The PlayStation version was a commercial success for Atlus in North America, prompting the localization of its sequel "Tactics Ogre".


text: The game received generally positive reviews from critics. The four reviewers of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" gave the Super NES version a rave review, applauding the graphics, music, combination of genres, hidden items, and the feature which defines the player character based on answers to the questions at the beginning, remarking that this creates "a different adventure each time". "GamePro"s Scary Larry gave it a mixed review, commenting that the game is "unique", but that the gameplay consists largely of tedious war simulation management, offering no direct control over the combat. He also criticized the overly small battle view. A reviewer for "Next Generation" commented that the graphics are simplistic and unimpressive but clear and easy to follow, the music is excellent, the interface is accessible, "and above all, the game play poses a serious strategic challenge".


text: Johnny Ballgame of "GamePro" gave the PlayStation version a positive review, commenting that "the gameplay and story line are identical" to the Super NES version but the audio has been remastered with "a movie-like musical score". He concluded that, with "13 endings, engrossing gameplay, and a wizard's bag full of secrets, "Ogre Battle" is a must-buy for RPG fans, whether or not you played the 16-bit version". "Electronic Gaming Monthly" commented that the PlayStation version is a "demanding strategy game loaded with secrets".


text: "Ogre Battle" was rated the 180th best game made on a Nintendo System in "Nintendo Power"'s Top 200 Games list. In 2018, Complex named Ogre Battle #34 on their "The Best Super Nintendo Games of All Time." IGN ranked the game 41st in its Top 100 SNES Games.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Emperor Dasharatha Maurya () was the 4th Mauryan emperor from 232 to 224 BCE. He was a grandson of Emperor Ashoka The Great and is commonly held to have succeeded him as the imperial ruler of India. Dasharatha presided over a declining imperium and several territories of the empire broke away from central rule during his reign. He had continued the religious and social policies of Ashoka. Dasharatha was the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty to have issued imperial inscriptions—thus the last Mauryan Emperor to be known from epigraphical sources.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Dasharatha was a grandson of the Mauryan ruler Ashoka. He is commonly held to have succeeded his grandfather as imperial ruler in India although some sources including the Vayu Purana have given different names and numbers of Mauryan Emperors after Ashoka. Of the grandsons of Ashoka, the two most frequently mentioned are Samprati and Dasharatha. The latter is described in the Vishnu Purana as the son and imperial successor of Suyashas (a son of Ashoka). It has been suggested that Suyash was an alternative name of Ashoka's son and presumptive heir Kunala.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Historians Vincent Smith and Romila Thapar advanced the popular theory of a division of the Mauryan Empire amongst Kunala and Dasharatha after the death of Ashoka. In some of the sources the division is recorded as having been between Samprati and Dasharatha, the latter holding the eastern parts with the capital at Pataliputra and the former the western imperium with the capital at Ujjain. However, Smith also wrote that "there is no clear evidence to support [the] hypothesis."


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: The Vayu and Brahmanda Puranas mention three Mauryan rulers—Bandhupalita, Indrapalita and Dasona—whose identification is rather difficult. It has been suggested that they may have been members of a branch line of the Maurya dynasty whom Dasharatha had appointed as regional governors for the convenience of administration.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: The political unity of the Mauryan Empire did not long survive Ashoka's death. One of Dasharatha's uncles, Jalauka, set up an independent kingdom in Kashmir. According to Taranatha, another Mauryan prince, Virasena declared himself king in Gandhara. Vidarbha also seceded. Evidence from Greek sources confirm the loss of the north-western provinces which was then ruled by the Mauryan ruler Sophagasenus (Subhagasena, probably a successor of Virasena). There is also much modern speculation about a possible east–west division of the empire involving Dasharatha and another Mauryan ruler. Epigraphic evidence indicates that Dasharatha retained imperial power in Magadha.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Various dynasties of the south including the Satavahana had been feudatories of the Mauryan Empire. These kingdoms are mentioned in Ashoka's edicts (256 BCE) and were considered part of the outer circle of the imperium—subject to the rule of the Mauryan Emperor, although doubtless enjoying a considerable degree of autonomy under their local rulers. The death of Ashoka began the decline of imperial power in the south. Dasharatha was able to maintain some command of the home provinces, but the distant governments, including areas in the south, broke away from imperial rule and reasserted their independence. The Mahameghavahana dynasty of Kalinga in central-eastern India also broke away from imperial rule after the death of Ashoka.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: According to a Jain text, the provinces of Surashtra, Maharashtra, Andhra, and the Mysore region broke away from the empire shortly after Ashoka's death, but were reconquered by Dasharatha's successor, Samprati (who supposedly deployed soldiers disguised as Jain monks).


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Ashoka had displayed divine support in his inscriptions; although a Buddhist ruler, he was called Devanampiya, which means "Beloved of the Gods" in Pali. The title of Devanampiya and religious adherence of the Mauryan ruler to Buddhism was continued by Dasharatha.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Dasharatha is known to have dedicated three caves in the Nagarjuni Hills to the Ajivikas. Three inscriptions at the caves refer to him as ""Devanampiya"" and state that the caves were dedicated by him shortly after his accession.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Dasaratha Maurya, Ashoka's grandson and regnal successor, wrote dedicatory inscriptions in the three forming the Nagarjuni group (Gopika, Vadathi and Vapiya caves) of the Barabar Caves. It is generally considered that their construction dates from his reign.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: The three caves were offered to the Ajivikas upon the accession to the throne of Dasaratha, confirming that these were still active around 230 BCE, and that Buddhism was not the exclusive religion of the Mauryas at that time.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: The three caves are also characterized by an extremely advanced finish of the granite walls inside, which again confirms that the technique of "Mauryan polish" did not die out with the reign of Ashoka.


title: Dasharatha Maurya

text: Samprati, who succeeded Dasharatha, was according to the Hindu Puranas, the latter's son and according to the Buddhist and Jain sources, Kunala's son (making him possibly a brother of Dasharatha). The familial relationship between the two is thus not clear although evidently they were closely related members of the imperial family.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Gary Anderson (born 22 December 1970) is a Scottish professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. His nickname is "The Flying Scotsman", after a famous Scottish steam train.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson is renowned for his heavy scoring in the game and having one of the smoothest throws. Anderson is a two-time back-to-back PDC World Champion, defeating Phil Taylor 7–6 in the 2015 final and Adrian Lewis 7–5 in 2016, while he was also a finalist in 2011, 2017 and 2021. His other career highlights include winning the International Darts League in 2007, the World Darts Trophy in 2007, the Zuiderduin Masters in 2007 and 2008, the Premier League in 2011 and 2015, the Players Championship Finals in 2014, the UK Open in 2018, World Matchplay in 2018, the Champions League of Darts in 2018 and the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts. He has also won 31 PDC Pro Tour events as of February 2020, putting him third on the all-time list behind Michael van Gerwen on 75 and Phil Taylor on 70.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Born in Musselburgh, Anderson began his career playing in British Darts Organisation events and won the second tournament he entered by claiming the 2001 Welsh Open with a defeat of John Walton. The win ensured he qualified for the following year's World Championship for the first time, where he suffered a first round defeat to Sweden's Stefan Nagy, going down 3–0.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: The following year, in the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship Anderson reached the semi-final stage before bowing out to eventual runner-up Ritchie Davies.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson would not win another match at the Lakeside Country Club until 2006, when he beat Gary Robson in the first round before again falling to the eventual finalist this time in Raymond van Barneveld in the second round.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the following two years, Anderson was knocked out of the World Championship in the first round by Dutch players – in 2007, he lost to Albertino Essers, and in 2008, he was defeated by Fabian Roosenbrand.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson won the first major tournaments of his career by claiming the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy back-to-back in 2007. It was a significant achievement as he succeeded against fields comprising the top players and world champions from both the rival organisations: the Professional Darts Corporation and BDO. In the two events, he had victories against Wayne Mardle, Roland Scholten, Mervyn King, James Wade, Adrian Lewis, Mark Webster, John Part, Peter Manley, Andy Hamilton and Phil Taylor.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Shortly after his WDT title, his success continued by clinching the BDO British Open to add to his 2007 Scottish Open success. Anderson also won the Zuiderduin Masters two years in a row – the first of which was an unranked event, the second was the first championship since the tournament was elevated to the status of ranking major. Anderson finished 2007 as the WDF world number 1, while he later ended 2008 as the WDF world number 2 behind Scott Waites In 2008, Anderson won the German Open, Welsh Open and BDO International Grand Prix titles. He also won the Dutch Pentathlon in 2008, retaining the title in 2009, with a world record score of 502 points.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Between 2000 and 2008, Anderson represented Scotland at three WDF World Cups, four WDF Europe Cups, and five Six Nations Cup. With Scotland, Anderson lifted successive Six Nations Cups in 2002 and 2003, as well as winning the WDF Europe Cup four-man and overall team titles in 2002. In total, Anderson played thirty-two matches for Scotland, winning twenty-two of them.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: After months of speculation, Anderson joined the PDC in early 2009. He made his PDC televised debut in an exhibition match at the Premier League Darts meeting in Cardiff, after Wayne Mardle had withdrawn with illness, and defeated John Part with a three-dart average of 107. He then qualified for the 2009 UK Open at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton, losing in the second round 6–4 to Paul Nicholson.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: On his PDC World Championship debut in 2010, Anderson defeated Jamie Caven 3–2 in the first round before losing 4–0 against Ronnie Baxter in the second round.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In June 2010, Anderson reached his first ever PDC major final at the UK Open. He defeated Michael van Gerwen, Paul Nicholson, Mervyn King (who hit a nine-dart finish against Anderson), Andy Hamilton, and Tony Ayres before losing to Phil Taylor in the final 5–11.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: At the 2010 World Matchplay he produced the first whitewash for six years with a 10–0 thumping of fellow Scot Robert Thornton during their first round encounter. His second round encounter was against Jelle Klaasen, with Klaasen winning 14–12.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, and went into the tournament as the number six seed. Anderson defeated Mark Hylton, Mark Webster and Wayne Jones in the group stage to finish top of his group. In the second round he defeated Colin Osborne 10–3 to again play Jones in the quarter finals. Anderson led 15–12 before Jones took the last four legs to win the match 16–15.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson represented Scotland along with Robert Thornton for the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in 2010 PDC World Cup of Darts. They entered the tournament in the second round as 4th seeds and beat Russia, paired by Anastasia Dobromyslova and Roman Konchikov, 6–2 to advance to the group stage, where they lost their opening group game to Wales pairing Mark Webster and Barrie Bates. Having recovered to secure victory against Bill Davis and Darin Young of the United States, Anderson and Thornton went out after defeat to Spain's Carlos Rodriguez and Antonio Alcinas.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson qualified for the 2011 World Championship as the number 11 seed and in the first round played Japan's Morihiro Hashimoto. Anderson won 3–0 in sets, taking all nine legs without reply, with an average of 103.23. In the second round he faced two-time world champion Dennis Priestley, winning 4 sets to 2. He then defeated Andy Smith in the third round (whilst setting his highest World Championship average of 108.39), Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals, and Terry Jenkins in the semi-finals to ensure his place in the final against Adrian Lewis. Anderson was defeated 7–5 by Lewis, who also hit a nine-dart finish during the first set of the match. Despite the loss, Anderson's run ensured him a place in the 2011 Premier League as he had moved into the top four on the Order of Merit.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson was the number two seed for the 2011 Players Championship Finals, and reached his second successive major final, where he played Phil Taylor. Anderson led 11–9, but Taylor checked out 128 in the deciding leg to win 13–12.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the Premier League he got off to a winning start by beating Simon Whitlock 8–5 on the opening night at the O2 Arena. He went on to win his first four games before losing to Taylor in week five. Anderson finished the group stage in third place and played Van Barneveld in the semi-finals, winning 8–6. In a repeat of the World Championship final he played Lewis (who had beaten Taylor 8–3 in the other semi-final) and beat him 10–4 to win his first major championship in the PDC, his third in total, and his first in the UK having had his previous successes in the Netherlands.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the World Matchplay he was beaten 10–6 in his first round match against Andy Hamilton, and he lost in the second round of the European Championship 10–5 to Peter Wright. Away from the television cameras on the PDC Pro Tour he won four Players Championships during the year including both during the same weekend in Nuland. In the first round of the World Grand Prix he faced Richie Burnett and lost 2–1 in sets.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson qualified from Group C of the Grand Slam of Darts and then won through to the final where he met Taylor and was comfortably beaten 16–4.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson holds the record for the highest ever three dart average in darts history in an official tournament with a 133.35 average in a 6–1 win against Arron Monk in a UK Open Qualifier during 2011.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson survived a huge scare in the first round of the 2012 World Championship as his opponent Jyhan Artut had four darts to win the match. He missed and Anderson won the match 3–2 on a sudden-death leg. He used his lucky escape to his advantage by defeating Devon Petersen and Colin Lloyd, 4–2 and 4–1 respectively, to set up a quarter-final clash with Simon Whitlock. He won the first set of the match, but missed a total of 29 darts at a double and lost 1–5.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: He played in his second World Cup for Scotland in February, this time with Peter Wright and together they were beaten by South Africa in the second round, losing in a sudden-death leg.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson had a disappointing defence of his Premier League title. He finished bottom of the league table having won just three matches from the 14-game season. In winning the event in 2011 he made a total of 79 180's, but could only manage 31 this year, the least of any of the eight players. However, in the last league game Anderson did have an encouraging 7–7 draw with Phil Taylor.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In June, he completed his first live televised nine-dart finish in a 9–3 third round win over Davey Dodds at the UK Open. He lost in the next round to compatriot, and eventual winner of the event, Robert Thornton 7–9. He was then forced to take a month away from the sport due to problems focusing with his left eye, returning to play in the World Matchplay. There he played Dean Winstanley in the first round and, despite leading 5–0, lost the match 11–13. Anderson was banned by the Darts Regulation Authority for two European Tour events and the European Championship due to "him failing to complete his match and his subsequent behaviour" at the European Tour Event 2. In October, he lost in the final of the 14th Players Championship of the year, 5–6 to Robert Thornton in an all Scottish final. Anderson then won the non-ranking Irish Masters by beating Colin Osborne 6–1 in the final. He finished second in Group F of the Grand Slam of Darts to qualify for the last 16, where he faced Andy Hamilton. Despite averaging almost 102, Anderson lost 9–10 in a thrilling match. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Anderson was 26th on the Order of Merit, inside the top 32 who qualified for the Players Championship Finals. He saw off Wes Newton and Robert Thornton, but was then beaten 8–10 by Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: During the 2012 season, Anderson, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets for the Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson survived three match darts versus John Bowles in the second round of the 2013 World Championship to win in a deciding set, but was then comfortably beaten by Raymond van Barneveld 0–4 in 33 minutes as he missed a total of 23 darts at doubles. Because the ranking system works as a two-year rolling list based on prize money earned, Anderson lost the £100,000 from reaching the 2011 World Championship final and dropped to world number 11 after the tournament. Anderson partnered Robert Thornton for the third time at the World Cup of Darts and they were shocked by Spain 4–5 in the last 16. He threw a nine-dart finish in the third UK Open Qualifier during a first round win over Josh Payne, but lost in the following round 5–6 to Michael van Gerwen.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: He qualified for the 2013 Premier League by virtue of being the 2011 champion. In the first eight matches he could only beat Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock and went into the ninth week knowing he had to beat James Wade to have any chance of avoiding being one of the two relegated players from the 10-man league. Anderson lost 3–7 to Wade and stated afterwards that he has struggled with his game for the last year. At the UK Open he led Kevin Painter 7–3 in the fourth round, but then lost six consecutive legs to exit the tournament 7–9. Anderson showed his best darts in the first round of the World Grand Prix as he averaged 104.86 in the double start event during a two sets to nil 10-minute defeat of Jelle Klaasen. He then edged past Wes Newton 3–2 before meeting Phil Taylor in top form in the quarter-finals who beat Anderson 3–0. At the Grand Slam of Darts, Anderson produced two superb performances in the group stage as he averaged 107.14 and 111.80 in defeats of Wesley Harms and Peter Wright. He lost his other game to James Wade to finish second in the group and play Taylor in the last 16. Anderson again posted an impressive average of 106.13 (almost four points ahead of Taylor's), but from 4–4 was unable to capitalise on the chances his scoring set up and lost 10–5. Anderson's second major quarter-final of the year came at the Players Championship Finals where he lost 9–7 to Justin Pipe.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson comfortably beat Mark Dudbridge and Brendan Dolan in the 2014 World Championship to face Michael van Gerwen in the third round. He took advantage of a sluggish start from Van Gerwen to establish a 3–1 lead and also missed two darts to win the set he lost. However, Anderson's usual scoring power deserted him as he lost three sets in a row to exit the tournament. Anderson bemoaned the fact that he had been playing consistently well over the previous months but kept losing games he should win through silly mistakes. He then began the year by claiming his first ranking title in two and a half years at the German Darts Championship. Anderson recovered from 5–3 down to Justin Pipe in the final to win 6–5, surviving six match darts from his opponent in the process and said afterwards his goal for the year was to reclaim his ranking in the top eight. His good start to the year continued as he won the fifth UK Open Qualifier with a 6–2 defeat of Robert Thornton. At the UK Open itself he lost 9–7 to Ian White in the fifth round. Anderson's third title of the year came at the first Players Championship as he averaged 111.47 in beating Andrew Gilding 6–5 in a high quality final. Another tournament victory came a week later at the third event by edging out Phil Taylor 6–5, with Anderson describing afterwards that winning has become a habit again.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson received a Sky Sports wildcard to participate in the Premier League this year. He had a fantastic second half of the season to win five of his last seven matches, drawing the other two, to finish fourth in the table and qualify for the play-offs. Anderson played Van Gerwen in the semi-finals against whom he lost to 7–5 and beat 7–4 during the league stage. There was never more than a leg between the players throughout the whole match with Van Gerwen throwing for it in the deciding leg. He kicked off with a 171 and Anderson could only reply with 17 and went on to lose 8–7. With doubling so often the weakness in Anderson's game, he managed to hit 43% during the whole season this year, the third highest out of the ten players. In June he won his fifth title of the season at the 11th Players Championship with a 6–2 defeat of Thornton.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: At the World Matchplay, Anderson beat Jamie Caven 10–8 and Stephen Bunting 13–8 (whilst averaging 104.41) to progress past the second round for the first time in his sixth appearance in the event. In the quarter-finals he outplayed Adrian Lewis in winning 13–8 and was then involved in a high quality match against Phil Taylor in the semi-finals as both players averaged 105 which Anderson just lost 17–15. Anderson stated that the quality of his darts was beginning to scare other players again and his successful week took him back into the world's top 10. In September he averaged 115.62 in thrashing Lewis 6–0 in the semi-finals of the 13th Players Championship and then fought back from 5–3 down in the final against Richie Burnett to take the title 6–5. He also reached the final of the 16th event but lost 6–2 against Brendan Dolan. Anderson's successful season in the floor events concluded at the final Players Championship where he sealed the title by throwing a 10 dart leg to edge Peter Wright 6–5. He finished the season top of the Pro Tour Order of Merit and was therefore the number one seed for the Players Championship Finals, something Anderson said he had worked his heart out all year to achieve. He produced his very highest standard throughout the event beginning with a 6–5 win over Christian Kist with an average of 110.62. In the quarter-finals he beat Taylor for the first time since 2007 in a televised knockout match and then eliminated Vincent van der Voort 11–7 and Lewis 11–6 in the final. It was Anderson's fourth major title and he ended the tournament with an overall average of 104.72.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson seemed to become frustrated with his first round opponent Scott Kirchner's playing style at the 2015 World Championship. Kirchner threw an imaginary dart before every visit to the board and Anderson struggled to a 3–1 win averaging 86.20. A much higher quality match followed against the fast throwing Jelle Klaasen in which Anderson recovered from 3–1 down to win 4–3, taking out a crucial 84 finish on the bull in the fifth set with Klaasen waiting on 89 for the match. Both players averaged over 100 with 20 180s thrown. More comfortable victories followed over Cristo Reyes (averaged 104.54) and last year's finalist Peter Wright (averaged 102.12) to set up a semi-final tie with Michael van Gerwen. Just like their meeting in the third round of 2014's event, Van Gerwen recovered from a 3–1 deficit to level at 3–3. However, he would miss four darts to gain a set lead for the first time in the match, with Anderson going on to take it 6–3. He finished with a checkout rate of 50% and averaged over 100 for the fourth game in a row.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson held an early 3–1 advantage over Phil Taylor in the final, before the 16-time world champion won nine of the next ten legs to move 4–3 ahead. Taylor then missed three darts to take the next set, allowing Anderson to tie the scores at 4–4. In Anderson's first visit to the board at the beginning of the ninth set he hit two treble 20s, but his third dart knocked them out of the bed to score nothing. He lost the leg and became distracted by a member of the audience shouting out to be two legs down, before punishing more missed darts from Taylor to claim the set. Anderson stood one set away from the title when he made it 6–4, but Taylor quickly recovered to send the match into a deciding set. Taylor had three darts to hold his throw in the second leg, but could not find the target as Anderson took the final set without reply to win his first World Championship 7–6. The match broke the record for 180s in a PDC final with 32, beating the 31 thrown during the 2007 final. Anderson's total 180s during the whole tournament of 64 was also a record. The title saw him climb to world number three, his highest position to date. Later in the month he was crowned the PDC Player of the Year, Pro Tour Player of the Year, Fans' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year at the annual awards dinner.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: At the Masters, following wins over Andy Hamilton, 10–2, and James Wade, 10–5, in which Anderson averaged 121 in the first five legs, he lost 11–6 to Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals. Anderson began his Premier League campaign with a 7–5 win over Phil Taylor. He was beaten 6–2 in the final of the German Darts Championship by Michael van Gerwen. From 8–4 ahead of Mervyn King in the third round of the UK Open, Anderson missed a total of 13 match darts to be defeated 9–8. In week six of the Premier League, Anderson secured a superb 7–1 win over Adrian Lewis, with a 109 average, and continued his form into that weekend by beating James Wade 6–5 to win the first Players Championship event of the year. On his first competitive return to Scotland as world champion, Anderson overcame Kim Huybrechts 7–5 in week seven of the Premier League. He missed double 12 for a nine darter in the last leg. After a 6–6 draw in week nine with Van Barneveld, with a 108 average, Anderson sat third in the Premier League table, with the first round of fixtures completed, and a total of six wins, one draw and 13 points from his first nine matches. After three defeats in his next five matches, Anderson secured his place in the Premier League play-offs with another 7–5 defeat of Phil Taylor in week 14. He finished the regular Premier League season beating Adrian Lewis 7–3 to finish in third. Anderson recorded nine wins, two draws and 20 points from 16 games. He lost 6–4 to Phil Taylor in the final of the ninth Players Championship.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson rallied from 7–4 down to Dave Chisnall in the Premier League semi-finals to send the match into a deciding leg in which Chisnall missed three match darts, allowing Anderson to take out a 116 finish to beat him 10–9. Anderson defeated Van Gerwen 11–7 in the final to claim the second Premier League title of his career. He became the second player after Phil Taylor win to the World Championship and Premier League in the same year. Anderson made his World Series of Darts debut at the Dubai Masters, but lost to Phil Taylor at the semi-final stage. Anderson and Peter Wright teamed up at the World Cup of Darts as the number two seeds. After wins over Singapore, Hungary, and Hong Kong, they saw off the Dutch duo of Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld in a doubles match to ensure Scotland would play in their first final in the event. They faced England's Taylor and Lewis and were 2–1 down in the tie, before Anderson beat Taylor 4–1 which meant the winner of Wright against Lewis would claim the title, with Lewis triumphing 4–1. At the World Matchplay, Anderson beat Steve Beaton 10–4 in the first round before a surprise 13–9 second round defeat to Mensur Suljović, which ended his bid for the Triple Crown. Following the completion of the tournament, Anderson became the world number two for the first time in his career. He won his second Players Championship of the year at the final event by seeing off James Wade 6–2.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the final of the European Championship, Anderson held a 10–7 advantage over Van Gerwen, but lost four legs in a row without getting a dart for the title as he was beaten 11–10. He averaged 104.22 against Mark Webster in the second round of the Grand Slam of Darts, but the Welshman took out 71% of his shots at doubles to defeat Anderson 10–6 and he lost in the same stage of the Players Championship Finals 10–4 to Daryl Gurney.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the defence of his title, Anderson reached the final of the 2016 World Championship without facing any troubles following wins over Andy Boulton, Daryl Gurney, Vincent van der Voort, James Wade and Jelle Klaasen with the loss of just two sets. In the semi-finals, he won 6–0 over Jelle Klaasen with a 107 average and threw a nine-dart finish in the opening set. He played Adrian Lewis in a rematch of the 2011 final and hit a 170 finish in the penultimate leg, before hitting double 12 (the same double which he hit to win his first World Championship) to retain his title with a 7–5 win, a reversal of the scoreline from five years ago. 34 180s were thrown which is a record in a professional match. Anderson became the 11th player to win more than one World Championship and joined Eric Bristow, Raymond van Barneveld and Lewis in being the only players to have successfully defended their first world title.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson took the fourth UK Open Qualifier with a 6–1 victory over James Wade, but at the main event suffered a huge surprise fourth round loss as amateur Barry Lynn won 9–3. He finished third in the Premier League to qualify for the semi-finals and rallied from 8–4 down against Phil Taylor to trail by one leg, but would be beaten 10–7. Anderson had an exceptional year in the invitational World Series events as he claimed the Dubai Masters, Auckland Darts Masters and Tokyo Darts Masters. He reached the semi-finals of the World Matchplay for the second time, but lost 17–8 to Taylor. Anderson's second Pro Tour title of 2016 was the 12th Players Championship which he won by edging out Terry Jenkins 6–5.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson's first major final after the World Championship came at the World Grand Prix which he got to without dropping more than one set against Jamie Caven, Kyle Anderson, Kim Huybrechts and Raymond van Barneveld. However, he was powerless to stop Michael van Gerwen from capturing the title with a 5–2 win. Anderson was whitewashed 6–0 by Wade in the first round of the European Championship, averaging just 77.40. In his next event, the World Series of Darts Finals, Anderson wore glasses on stage for the first time. He said after going for an eye test he could not believe he had won two world title without being able to see properly and also explained that he has had to change his throw after his old one would knock his glasses off. He did lose 6–5 to Joe Cullen in his first match wearing them, but reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam where he was defeated 16–14 by Wade.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In his quarter-final match with Dave Chisnall at the 2017 World Championship 33 180s were thrown, just one shy of the record. With the match tied at three sets apiece, Chisnall was ahead in the seventh set 2–0, but missed four darts to take it and Anderson would win 5–3. After Peter Wright equalised their semi-final at 3–3 after trailing 3–1, Anderson won nine of the next ten legs to reach the final for the third year in a row with a 6–3 victory.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: He was on a 17-game unbeaten streak at the event and missed two darts to take a 3–1 lead over Michael van Gerwen in the early stages of the final. Van Gerwen then won 12 of the next 14 legs in taking four sets in a row and, though Anderson pulled one back, his reign as world champion ended with a 7–3 loss. Anderson had not averaged over 100 in his two previous wins in the final, but averaged 104.93 in this defeat, as well as hitting 22 180s which is a record in a single match. The pair smashed the record for the most 180s in a match with 42 and Anderson's 71 for the entire tournament is also a record.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson and Van Gerwen also met in the final of the Masters, with Anderson losing 11–7. He was level at 7–7 with Van Gerwen in the semi-finals of the Premier League, before being defeated 10–7. Anderson and Wright suffered a surprise first round 5–2 defeat to Singapore at the World Cup.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson began his 2018 season with a loss to eventual runner-up Phil Taylor in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Championship, failing to reach the finals for the first time in 4 years.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: With Rob Cross breaking into the top 3 in Order of Merit with his World Championship victory over Taylor, Anderson would play the 2018 season ranked 4th in the world. This would queue him up for a series of semi-finals matches against Michael van Gerwen, the first of which would be a 5–11 loss in the Masters. Anderson returned 2 weeks later to win the 4th UK Open Qualifier and enter the UK Open as the 6th seed. Having not reached the final since his 2010 loss to Taylor, Anderson reached the final for a second time to defeat Corey Cadby 11–7. Just a week later, Anderson followed up with back to back victories in Players Championships 3 and 4.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In the 2018 Premier League, Anderson had an 8–5–3 (W–L–D) record to finish 3rd in the league table and reach the playoffs for the 5th year straight, but would fall to Michael Smith in the semi-final. Nevertheless, Anderson would turn around two days later to win his third Players Championship title of the year. Another two weeks later, Anderson would join Peter Wright for the fourth time to represent Scotland at the 2018 World Cup. With the pair having only lost one set before the finals, they fell to the reigning champions, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld of The Netherlands with MVG's 4–0 defeat of the Flying Scotsman.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson kicked off the second half of the year with an 8–4 victory over Rob Cross in the final of the US Darts Masters where he hit the tournament high checkout of 164 in the final leg. The following week, his World Series success would come to an end after a first round defeat in the Shanghai Darts Masters. His form was soon to return in the World Matchplay where he hit a £45,000 nine-dart finish against Joe Cullen in the quarter-finals. With a defeat over Cullen and Jeffrey de Zwaan, who had beaten other two-time world champions Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis in the first two rounds, Anderson met Mensur Suljović in the final. In the longest match in Matchplay history, Anderson defeated Suljović 21–19 in the best of 35 match with the stipulation that the game must be won by 2 clear legs. The tournament saw Anderson hit 52 180s, the most ever in a winning effort at the Matchplay, and second overall only to the 56 that Adrian Lewis hit in his 2013 campaign that ended in defeat by Phil Taylor.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: After taking second in his group with victories over Michael van Gerwen and Dave Chisnall, but a loss to Daryl Gurney, Anderson would meet Suljović again in the semi-final of the 2018 Champions League of Darts. The Scotsman secured an 11–4 victory over the Austrian to avenge his defeat in the 2017 Final where the Austrian won 11–9. Anderson was quick to follow up with another 11–4 victory in the final against his fellow countryman Peter Wright to become the third champion in as many stagings of the tournament. A week later in the World Grand Prix, Anderson would again struggle when he fell to the reigning champion Daryl Gurney for the second time in two weeks, with a 3–0 defeat in the quarter-finals.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: In November, Anderson went undefeated in the group stage of the Grand Slam and met MVG in the semi-final having only lost 12 legs combined in the prior rounds. Anderson took the set 16–12 before meeting Gerwyn Price in the final. After at one point leading the match 11–8, Anderson was visibly distracted by Price, and only won 2 of the next 10 legs, to lose 13–16 in the controversial final. The following week in the 2018 Players Championship Finals, Anderson once again met MVG in the semi-finals with each of them having only given up 9 legs in the tournament so far. This time around, Van Gerwen would get the advantage, winning 11–9 before losing to Daryl Gurney by the same margin in the final.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson entered the 2019 World Championship as the fourth seed and won his opening match against Kevin Burness 3–1. He led his third round match against Jermaine Wattimena 3–1, before losing the next two sets, then had to survive match darts to take the game to a tie break before eventually prevailing 5–3 in the deciding set. In the fourth round, Anderson recovered from a 2–0 deficit to Chris Dobey to win the final set in another tiebreaker with a score of 4–2 legs. In the quarter finals, Anderson appeared to have gotten his game back with a 5–2 victory over Dave Chisnall and a 103.03 average, his first over 100 in the tournament. Anderson visibly struggled however in his semi-final match with Michael van Gerwen. The world number one put up a 104.76 average to Anderson's 97.98 to secure a 6–1 victory and only giving up 7 legs.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson had been struggling with back problems for a couple of years at this point, and took the decision to withdraw from the Masters at the start of February 2019 due to these issues. He then had to take the decision to also pull out of the Premier League, meaning that he'd miss the tournament for the first time since 2010. However, Anderson stated that a specialist had found the problem with his back and that he hoped to be back in action within a couple of months after receiving treatment. On 25 February, it was announced that Anderson would make his yearly debut at the 2019 UK Open in March.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson, alongside teammate Peter Wright, won the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts, the first time Scotland had won the tournament.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson exited the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship in the fourth round, losing to Nathan Aspinall. He returned to the Premier League after a year away.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson won his first ranking title since the 2018 Matchplay at the first Players Championship event of 2020; beating Jeff Smith in the final. At the 2020 World Matchplay, Anderson made his first televised singles final since 2018, losing to Dimitri Van den Bergh.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Anderson went into the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship as thirteenth seed; and dismissed his chances of a third world title after an opening win over Madars Razma, describing 2019 & 2020 as "rotten". He beat Mensur Suljović 4–3 in a controversial game, with Anderson accusing his opponent of gamesmanship. Anderson then whitewashed Devon Petersen to reach the eighth PDC World Championship quarterfinal of his career. Dirk van Duijvenbode won the first set against Anderson in the quarter-finals, but Anderson turned the game around including a run of ten legs in a row to win the match 5–1. Anderson secured a 6–3 win over Dave Chisnall in the semi-finals to qualify for his fifth World Championship final and set up a repeat of the controversial 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final against Gerwyn Price. Anderson went on to lose the final 7–3 to Price.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Originally from Musselburgh, East Lothian, Anderson moved to Eyemouth, Berwickshire, after meeting his ex-wife Rosemary. The couple have two children.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Having previously worked as a builder, Anderson and his partner Rachel moved south to run the Wellington Arms public house in Rooksbridge, Somerset, for fellow PDC player Steve Grubb. The couple have a son Tai (born 2014), and in October 2017 welcomed a baby girl. Regulars at the Wellington Arms included former world champions, Trina Gulliver and Mark Webster. After handing over running of the pub in 2016 to a new manager to allow Anderson to fully commit to his darts career, the family have since resided in Burnham on Sea, Somerset.


title: Gary Anderson (darts player)

text: Having initially gone under the moniker 'Dreamboy' earlier in his darts career, Anderson is now known as 'The Flying Scotsman' (after the train of the same name), having adopted the nickname after it was passed on to him by Scottish darts legend Jocky Wilson in 2009.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste group mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpandes and Gadkaris and according to the historian, B.R. Sunthankar, produced some of the best warriors in Maharashtrian History.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: Traditionally, in Maharashtra, the caste structure was headed by the deshasthas, chitpawans, karhade, saraswats and the CKPs. Other than the Brahmins, the Prabhus (CKPs and Pathare Prabhus) were the communities advanced in education.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: Traditionally, the CKPs have the "upanayana" ( "janeu" or thread ceremony) and have been granted the rights to study the vedas and perform vedic rituals along with the Brahmins. The CKP performed three Vedic karmas or duties which in sanskrit are called: Adhyayan- studying of the Vedas, yajna- ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras and dāna – alms or charity.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: Ritually ranked very high, the caste may be considered socially proximate to the Maharashtrian Brahmin community. They have traditionally been an elite and literate but a numerically small community.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: More formally, in Maharashtra, they are one of the Prabhu Communities and a sister caste of the Pathare Prabhu. The CKP followed the Advaita Vedanta tradition propounded by Adi Shankara, the first Shankaracharya.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: The name "Chandraseniya" may be a corruption of the word "Chandrashreniya", meaning from the valley of the Chenab River (also known as "Chandra"). This theory states that the word "Kayastha" originates from the term "Kaya Desha", an ancient name for the region around Ayodhya. The CKP claim descent from Chandrasen, an ancient kshatriya king of Ujjain and Ayodhya and of the Haihaya family of the lunar Kshatriya Dynasty.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: During the times of the Shilahara dynasty of Konkan (around the 10th century), the Silhara kings were known to invite for settlement into their lands, Brahmins and Kshatriyas of the northern Indo-Gangetic valley. These are the Goud Saraswat Brahmin and the CKP.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: In fact, epigraphical evidences i.e. engravings from the Shilahara times have been found in Deccan to prove that many CKPs held high posts and controlled the civilian and military administration. For example, a Shilahara inscription around A.D. 1088 mentions the names of a certain "Velgi Prabhu". "Lakshmana Prabhu" is mentioned as a "MahaDandanayaka" (head of military) and "MahaPradhana" (prime minister); "Ananta-Prabhu" is mentioned as a "MahaPradhana" (prime minister), "Kosadhikari" (Head of treasury) and "Mahasandhivigrahika" (charge of foreign department). According to Historian and researcher S.Muley, these epigraphs might be the first available evidences of the existence of the CKP in Maharashtra.


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: Kayastha chiefs claiming Kshatriya varna ruled over vast swathes of land in Andhra country, and they are recorded in Andhra history dating back to the 13th century .


title: Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu

text: According to a letter written by the Shankaracharya, who confirmed the 'Vedadhikar' of the CKPs, the title "Prabhu", which means high official, must have been given to the CKPs by the Shilahar kings of Konkan.