Former Rangers star Kevin Kyle has become a hit in darts after injury ended his football career in 2014.
The 34-year-old footballer, who won ten Scotland caps, knocked out Dutch ninth seed Richard Veenstra at the Scottish Open according to The Scottish Sun.
Kyle, who spent a season at the Ibrox club four years ago, edged this year’s BDO World Championship semi-finalist three legs to two at Renfrew’s Normandy Hotel on Saturday.
He beat Philip McDermott 3-0 in his first match then shocked Veenstra in the second round but lost his third round clash with Englishman Kevin Thoburn 3-0.
After the win the footballer, who also played for Kilmarnock, Hearts and Sunderland, said: “I’ve played at Wembley in front of 60,000 fans but being up there was much more scary. You’re out there on your own.
“I was excited when I saw I could face Veenstra and it was an amazing feeling beating him.
“I’d definitely missed that competitive edge after I finished with football.”
Len Mutch, chairman of the Scottish Darts Association, added: “Kevin’s win was the talk of the tournament when they found out it was the footballer.
“Veenstra’s seen as one of Holland’s up and coming players, so it was a great achievement for him.”
Dad-of-three Kyle, who plays for The Red Brae pub team in Kirkintilloch near his Cumbernauld home, has been taking part in darts tournaments across Scotland.
He said: “It was just something I did to pass the time and it’s spiralled from there. I started with 20 minutes a day, then decided to push it a bit further.
“I’d been getting better and better and had always wanted to have a go at the Scottish Open.
“It’s just a hobby really. I have three kids so I can’t really push it much further. And there’s so many levels to darts I could never get near enough to the top.”
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