UPANGA Darts Club (UDC) is upbeat about its chances to impress in this year's Tanzania International Open Darts Championship that kicked of on Friday in Mwanza.

Tanzania Darts Association (TADA) has organized the three-day tournament, which also involves players from the rest of the East African region, in a bid to maintain effective promotion of the sport in the country. Players from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are also expected to feature in the event.

UDC's skipper, Mohamed Samji 'Jaluo,' told the 'Daily News on Saturday' that he and his team mates were ready to take tournament, which is being held at the Monarch Hotel today, by storm and go on to win honours."We have trained intensively for the tournament and we are keen on doing extremely well in Mwanza. We wouldn't be making mistakes this time," he said.

UDC hosted a brief ceremony at its venue, located at Upanga suburb in the city on Wednesday to bid farewell to players that will participate in the Tanzania International Open Darts Championship, which climaxes on Sunday.A Dar es Salaam-based firm, Tahfif Office and School Supplies Limited, presented special T-shirts and cash to the UDC squad, to boost its participation in the tournament.

Samji, who presided over the equipment and cash's handing over ceremony on behalf of the team's sponsors, said the UDC squad that left for Mwanza early on Thursday comprised six players and two officials.The players are Azim Haji Mohamed, who is also UDC and Dar es Salaam Darts Association (DADA) chairman, Harrinder Singh, Mehboob Khakoo, Sanjay Kara, Zeb Khan and skipper Jaluo, while officials are team manager, Ashok Motichand and UDC secretary general, Bharat Vyas.

Jaluo hinted that the eight were expected to be joined by the club's two other dependable players, Alikhan Wallani and Devendra Rajput 'Deva,' shortly before the tournament's beginning."We thank our team's sponsors a lot for their support. We have prepared well to successfully represent our club and country in the Tanzania International Darts Open Championship," added Jaluo.

All eight players had their final training sessions at the club on Wednesday evening, in which they played a series of round robin matches in a bid to put final touches on the preparations and bolster confidence ahead of the showdown.The tournament involves singles, doubles and team events, with lucrative prizes having been set aside for winners, according to TADA Chairman, Gesase Waigama.

Mwanza is hosting the event for the first time in recent years and the privilege of being the event's host might inspire the region to field bigger number of players to ensure Tanzania's chances of snatching the top honour remain high.