Raymond van Barneveld would rather not remember what happened at the last Professional Darts Corporation World Championships in which he took part, a year ago last December.

Look away now Raymond. In what was to be his final farewell in the big time, on the Alexandra Palace stage where he had earned so many triumphs in the previous dozen years, he lost in the first round. And retired.

RVB - as he likes to call himself - had first announced his decision to pack up in March 2019 after losing a Premier League match 7-1 to his fellow Dutchman Michael van Gerwen. He thought better of it the following day. But when the 2019 World Championships rolled around, retirement thereafter was official.

His farewell night was already arranged in Amsterdam. Tickets sold. Venue booked. A life of exhibition matches and clinics beckoned. And as far as RVB was concerned, that was OK. Up to a point…

This week, however, RVB is going back to school - PDC’s European Qualifying School - in an effort to regain his Tour card and return to the world he now realises he has missed too much.

The reflection that has brought him to this position at the age of 53 arrived in the course of his unfamiliar new life outside the darts world - a life that has been starkly and bleakly clarified by the privations of COVID lockdown.

Life post-competition is always challenging for an elite performer - and Van Barneveld has known the heady heights of his chosen game.

Van Barneveld won four versions of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Championships up to 2006, at which point he switched to the ranks of the PDC.

The following year, in what is still regarded by many as the greatest ever final, he added a single PDC version of the world title after disconnecting Phil "The Power" Taylor 7-6 in a sudden-death leg, having coming from three sets down.

Speaking to the PDC in the run-up to his Q-school debut Van Barneveld said: "I need focus. My whole career was always based on focus. When a reporter asked me 14 years ago when I was joining the PDC, what was my goal, I said I had three or four.

"I said ‘I want to play Phil Taylor and I want to beat him, I want to do a televised nine-darter, I want to win the World Championship and I want to become the PDC number one.'

"I achieved that in 14 months. But when you go down the rankings it is very hard to focus because you are always defending ranking points. Based on that I’m starting from scratch right now. There is nothing to lose."

But getting to this new starting point, van Barneveld revealed, has been a painful process.

"Last year was a good learning process for me," he said. "I started to realise what I had and that was not so bad to be honest.

"It was a fantastic life - playing at the highest level on stages, fantastic crowds, beautiful countries to travel to. I was not really happy about the situation that I was retiring. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure this was the right thing.

"I became a problem for myself, my family and friends. Depressed. Burn-out I think.

"Of course there was that awful World Championship - I’d rather forget that pretty quick, because that was awful. But I thought I would do some exhibitions and clinics around the world and that felt good.

"The first two or three months I was OK - I had my farewell night in Amsterdam, I was pretty OK. And then the COVID came.

"You must realise I went from 100 per cent attention from playing darts at the highest level to not even 50 per cent through doing exhibitions but straight to zero.

"Well the first two months you are OK, but then you are not allowed to travel any more, you are not allowed to play darts, everything went closed, no competition darts, you don’t see your friends any more, so the only thing you do is watch Netflix.

"So it became a bit of a problem. And I was thinking what to do next, and I started missing the game - that’s all what happened. I was watching back old films of myself on YouTube and thinking ‘’Wow, this was great life, right?’”

What tipped him back into action was advice from an old friend and supporter who told him: "You must pick up your darts again and start practising, because Q-School is coming round the corner."

Van Barneveld reflected: "He started me thinking - why not? I had a lot of time to think things over last year. The things I did wrong I want to do this better this time. Now I am refreshed. My head is clear. I love the darts, I’m watching every competition on TV, I can’t wait to come back. But first steps first.

"When I was a 17-year-old I believed in myself and had dreams. But the last three years I didn’t have dreams any more. I went to pro tournaments not realising this was the best job in the world.

"Last year I think I started to think about this life again. It was great, it was fantastic, as long as you win and you are lifting trophies. I was an amazing time.

"I still believe I can do that. It is not realistic to say I can be world champion or I’m going to win a major, but it is realistic that I can join the Pro Tour and start playing well on the highest level and give myself, my girlfriend and family and my fans the best RVB to remember.

"The first goal is getting this Tour card. I don’t know how hard it’s going to be. Maybe I just get it in two days. But there are so many good players at the moment - they all come through this Tour School and they are now top 16 and they are great players so don’t underestimate and that is what I’m not going to do.

"I believe in myself. I have the class to become a top 16, maybe top eight player in the world. But we’ll see."

 Asked to visualise a return to the Ally Pally, in front of a packed crowd, Van Barneveld responded: "That would be really great. I have so much respect for how the PDC has managed to do so much for the players, there’s still money involved, but I know it’s hard with COVID restrictions.

"People at home can still watch these games. But of course every sport is always better off with the crowd - football, tennis, rugby, snooker, and of course darts. Without them, to be honest, its nothing special."

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, covered the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics as chief feature writer for insidethegames, having covered the previous five summer Games, and four winter Games, for The Independent. He has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian.

Qatar stages 2022 FIFA World Cup draw prior to being first Asian host in 20 years

When British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won the Olympic gold medal in ice dance at Sarajevo 1984 with 12 perfect 6.0s from every judge, for their interpretation of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, an important member of their team was singer-actor Michael Crawford. Crawford, who had played Frank Spencer in British sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera, had become a mentor to the pair in 1981 and went on to help them create their Olympic routine. Crawford said he “taught them how to act". He was present with their trainer Betty Callaway at the ringside at Sarajevo as they created one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.

The FA - EURO 2028 Bid Team Coordinator - London, United Kingdom

The football associations and government partners of the UK and Ireland are working collaboratively on a five-association bid for UEFA EURO 2028 - the third largest sport event in the world. An exciting opportunity has arisen to be an integral part of the team coordinating the bid. Based at the English FA, you will work in a small bid team with all partners across the UK & Ireland to support the delivery of a bid for an event which would be an incredible opportunity to drive positive change and leave lasting legacies across our communities.

Kate Caithness was the first female President of an Olympic Winter Sports Federation when she was elected to lead World Curling in 2010. As her tenure nears an end, she speaks to Michael Houston about her time at the helm and how the sport has developed.

Which of these events are you most looking forward to in 2022?

You have viewed over 50 articles in the last 12 months.

Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10

For nearly 15 years now, insidethegames.biz has been at the forefront of reporting fearlessly on what happens in the Olympic Movement. As the first website not to be placed behind a paywall, we have made news about the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and other major events more accessible than ever to everybody. 

insidethegames.biz has established a global reputation for the excellence of its reporting and breadth of its coverage. For many of our readers from more than 200 countries and territories around the world the website is a vital part of their daily lives. The ping of our free daily email alert, sent every morning at 6.30am UK time 365 days a year, landing in their inbox, is as a familiar part of their day as their first cup of coffee.

Even during the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic, insidethegames.biz maintained its high standard of reporting on all the news from around the globe on a daily basis. We were the first publication in the world to signal the threat that the Olympic Movement faced from the coronavirus and have provided unparalleled coverage of the pandemic since. 

As the world begins to emerge from the COVID crisis, insidethegames.biz would like to invite you to help us on our journey by funding our independent journalism. Your vital support would mean we can continue to report so comprehensively on the Olympic Movement and the events that shape it. It would mean we can keep our website open for everyone. Last year, nearly 25 million people read insidethegames.biz, making us by far the biggest source of independent news on what is happening in world sport. 

Every contribution, however big or small, will help maintain and improve our worldwide coverage in the year ahead. Our small and dedicated team were extremely busy last year covering the re-arranged Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, an unprecedented logistical challenge that stretched our tight resources to the limit. 

2022 is not going to be any less busy, or less challenging. We have the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing, where we are sending a team of four reporters, the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Summer World University and Asian Games in China, the World Games in Alabama and multiple World Championships. Plus, of course, there is the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

Unlike many others, insidethegames.biz is available for everyone to read, regardless of what they can afford to pay. We do this because we believe that sport belongs to everybody, and everybody should be able to read information regardless of their financial situation. While others try to benefit financially from information, we are committed to sharing it with as many people as possible. The greater the number of people that can keep up to date with global events, and understand their impact, the more sport will be forced to be transparent.

Support insidethegames.biz for as little as £10 - it only takes a minute. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you.