Bond aficionados will know that early in each story comes an inaugural meeting between hero and foe. A chance encounter over highballs, perhaps, or a high-stakes hand of chemin de fer.

Darts legend Raymond van Barneveld has crashed out of the 2020 Darts World Championship in the first round at the hands of Darin Young.

Mother-of-one Fallon Sherrock, 25, was left speechless after she beat 22-year-old Ted Evetts 3-2 at the PDC World Championships at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old from Milton Keynes created history on Tuesday night by becoming the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Darts Championship when she overcame Ted Evetts.

GREAT SPORTING MOMENTS OF 2019: In the fourth in our series of the greatest moments of the sporting year, we recall those two nights when two Brits claimed World Championship gold...

Fallon Sherrock said it was 'incredible' to have her latest PDC World Darts Championship win tweeted about by Billie Jean King.

From hairdresser to history-maker, Fallon Sherrock is through to the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship - and has her heart set on lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy.

Fallon Sherrock will look to continue her pulsating World Darts Championship run at Alexandra Palace, having spent four hours of her Christmas Day practising.

After the fesitivies of Christmas Day, Boxing Day is made for one thing and one thing only - sport. We have you covered, with your definitive watching brief to ensure you can cram in every bit of action.

Defending champion Michael Van Gerwen cruised into the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship, as two-time winner Gary Anderson tumbled out.

Adrian Lewis crashed out of the World Championship at Alexandra Palace on Saturday night after surrendering a 3-1 lead against Belgian star Dimitri van den Bergh.

The 25-year-old's fairytale run came to an end in a 4-2 defeat to Chris Dobey in front of a raucous crowd, with Dobey forced to use earplugs in an attempt to drown out the support for Sherrock.

Labanauskas, who had taken the opener to threaten a surprise, drew blood after accidentally stabbing himself with a dart, but showed no ill effects after the brief interruption.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Climing is one of the new sports for Tokyo 2020, along with skateboarding, karate, surfing and baseball/softball - a five-pronged move by the IOC.

Peter Wright will be the man to challenge defending champion Michael van Gerwen in the PDC World Championships final, as the pair came out on top on Monday night.

Gerwyn Price has slammed Peter Wright for employing dirty tactics and described his behaviour as 'out of order' following his defeat in their heated World Darts Championship semi-final.

The PDC have announced that the 2020 Premier League will feature nine 'challengers' in a move which potentially opens the door for Fallon Sherrock to feature.

Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to win a World Championship match when she beat Ted Evetts last month, and Barry And Hearn believes it has put darts back on the global map.

PETE CARLINE: Peter Wright played the match of his life to claim a first PDC World Darts title, beating nemesis Michael van Gerwen 7-3 in a major final at the eighth time of asking.

Fallon Sherrock has been confirmed as one of the nine 'challengers' who will feature in the 2020 Premier League. She shot to fame at the World Darts Championship.

Olympic gold medallist Alex Danson has said she will make an extraordinary return to training with the Great Britain hockey team on Monday after her career was derailed by a freak concussion.

Parents of young sports men and women have been warned about predatory coaches who may use their position to take advantage of children and how to spot the warning signs.

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: Joel Embiid's left ring finger looked like the top of a used bendy drinking straw, grotesquely overlapping his pinkie to the point that it seemed he had his fingers crossed.

It's HOT OR NOT time again as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's been leaving him cold this week.

MIKE KEEGAN - SPORTS AGENDA: Given their obsession with young audiences, It should come as no surprise that the BBC's press office have apparently begun to act like Pinocchio.

An offender involved in a brutal fight during an NHL match has defended his actions after punching his opponent and throwing him to the ground during Edmonton Oilers clash with Calgary Flames.

The former F1 driver, alongside Marc Coma, was driving a Toyota Hilux over a sand dune when he lost control of the car. It flipped twice, landing back on its wheels, but the pair did complete the 10th stage.

EXCLUSIVE: The Norwich-born star, who had a film made about her life story in 2019 called Fighting with My Family, has been retired from wrestling due to a neck injury since April 2018.

JEFF POWELL: My long-range admiration for Courtney Lawes as a man has been cemented by his principled stand against the fake allegations that criticism of Meghan Markle is racist.

HECTOR NUNNS AT ALEXANDRA PALACE: Stuart Bingham became the oldest Masters champion on Sunday night in a final dramatically halted by a phantom raspberry-blower.

Fallon Sherrock will face Glen Durrant on her Premier League debut in Nottingham next month. The 25-year-old was named as a challenger for the second night of the tournament

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe watched on as reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped Milwaukee Bucks beat Charlotte Hornets in the first-ever NBA game to held in Paris.

From April 2020, any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market for a period of four months before it can be used in competition.

An Olympic selection row has broken out in British Triathlon after Vicky Holland was nominated for Tokyo ahead of her best friend and old house-mate Non Stanford.

This is the hilarious moment San Antonio Spurs star Jakob Poeltl forgot to put his jersey on as he walked out on to the court for their match with La Clippers.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: British women have been tipped to make history in Tokyo, with the head of Team GB boldly predicting that 2020 will be 'the year of the female Olympian'.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: I'll tell you one that surprised me - it was a message from my language tutor,' says Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Athletes have accused World Athletics of favouring Nike in the wake of their new regulations to tackle the growing controversy around racing shoes.

Great Britain's hopes of reaching the next Winter Olympics were dashed on Sunday when they were defeated 4-1 by their old rivals Hungary in a winner takes all clash.

Arnold, whose 46-year coaching career yielded over 70 major medals, said: 'After London 2012 and the opportunity that brought, you have to wonder how it has been allowed to get like this.'

The upheaval and chaos at UK Athletics intensified on Thursday night with the surprise resignation of chairman Chris Clark.

Fallon Sherrock narrowly failed to create more history as she drew 6-6 with Glen Durrant at the Premier League in Nottingham after her PDC World Championship success in December.

The elephant in the room remains, running laps at improbable speed. It has been two weeks since Jemma Reekie came to wider attention with an astonishing performance - now she must talk.

The world's fastest sailboat is set to complete its record-breaking journey around the world this week, making its arrival through the Thames. The IDEC Sport's crew are led by Francis Joyon.

Laura Lambert and Chief Sports Writer Martin Samuel are shortlisted for the Hugh McIlvanney Award for Sports Journalist of the Year.

Former Great Britain captain Alex Danson-Bennett has retired from hockey after failing to fully recover from a 'life-changing' head injury.

It is four years since Jason Kenny won three gold medals at the Rio Games, thus matching Sir Chris Hoy as Great Britain's most successful Olympian by bringing his tally to six.

If Laura Kenny wanted to forget about the injury she was told would rule her out of the Tokyo Olympics, her two-year-old son had other ideas.

British Cycling have been dealt a major financial blow after HSBC pulled the plug on their £20million sponsorship deal four years early.

The four-man, 4km event is one of Team GB's most successful in any Olympic sport - they won gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Veteran Ed Clancy was the only ever-present in those teams.