Norwich darts ace Roz Bulmer was 'over the moon' after pulling off a shock victory at the World Darts Trophy.
Bulmer defeated the British Darts Organisation (BDO) women's number one Deta Hedman 4-3 in the last 16 of the competition, having emerged through the events qualifiers.
The Costessey resident, partner of local men's player Jason Lovett, had to put her sporting ambitions on hold in 2016 after being diagnosed with cancer but is bouncing back in style.
Bulmer knocked out third seed Hedman, a BDO women's legend with over 130 of the tour's titles on her record, on Wednesday night to book a place in the quarter-finals at the Preston Guild Hall.
'I'm so over the moon it's untrue!' said an ecstatic Bulmer after her win. 'I played her a couple of weeks ago in Denmark and I was lucky enough to beat her on the floor but then we played each other in the semi-finals (of the Denmark Masters) on stage and she beat me 4-0 – I don't even think I got a dart at a double.
'So she knows I can play darts because I played her on the floor and I think the 117 shot-out did a lot of damage mentally and put her under pressure early doors.'
Following defeat to eventual winner Hedman in the Denmark Masters semi-finals, Bulmer reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open – another event won by Hedman – before heading to Lancashire for the Trophy (WDT).
The Norfolk county player, 20th in the BDO women's rankings ahead of the WDT, is set to face Dutch sixth seed Sharon Prins in the quarter-finals on Saturday but is not getting carried away with her success.
'I didn't expect to be here in the first instance, the qualifiers were horrific,' she joked, speaking to the BDO's Youtube channel.
'The amount of quality players that were in the qualifiers was absolutely horrific; Casey Gallagher, Vicky Prulm, they're all top quality players and I had to get through that in the first instance. So I just take each game as it comes, that's my attitude and we'll keep going. I'm just being a little bit of a pest to everybody because that's what I want to do!'
The WDT is being broadcast by FreeSports, available on most major TV providers, with Bulman's match scheduled for 12.40pm on Saturday.
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