Phil Taylor will never be slim, but the 13-times world champion has decided that a fitter body will mean a fitter mind after losing his title in a marathon tussle on Monday night to the younger and relatively more svelte Raymond van Barneveld.

Van Barneveld, 39, has become the most celebrated man in his native Netherlands after his dramatic victory over Taylor, coming back from three sets down to win on a sudden-death leg. The Dutchman has received messages of congratulation from the Prime Minister and Queen of the Netherlands as well as from the owner of a shop in The Hague where he bought a set of new darts for £1 three months ago.

“As soon as I practised, I said I will win the world title with them,” Van Barneveld, who left the rival British Darts Organisation for a shot at Taylor’s crown, said. “I will now get the respect I have been lacking for the past few years in Holland.”

Taylor, however, plans to return next year slimmer and hungry for more success. He is 46 and admitted that he lacked the stamina for long battles.

“My energy levels dropped at the end against Barney,” Taylor said. “Years ago I could practise for five hours and not even break sweat. Now after two hours I am getting tired. I am not fit enough. I need to stop eating. I have got fit before and then I think I can just put a stone back on. I really do struggle with my weight. But I never go on the scales, so I never know what I put on.”

Taylor’s biggest problem has been losing weight too fast, and then piling the pounds back on by eating the wrong food at the wrong times as he tries to balance practice with promotional duties. He said he has not been to the gym in months, whereas Van Barneveld has been walking for an hour a day and practising Zen therapy.

Taylor has already sought a more scientific programme, prepared by Steve Town, a regional director for Sport England, to keep the weight off and fitness levels up. “We will try cycling, walking, swimming, gym work and see what he likes,” Town said. “It needs to be part of his lifestyle, not a chore.”

Taylor underwent a similar regime five years when he chose to work on his fitness after a conversation with Johnny Nelson, the former boxing cruiserweight world champion, who detailed his training schedule. He spent two hours a day in the gym, shed several stone but lost his world title in dramatic fashion to John Part, 7-6.

Some charitably blamed that defeat on Taylor’s weight change disturbing his rhythm and tempo, but Taylor would clearly gain from another drop in his weight.

“The heavier his arm, the harder it is for his muscles to control things and the more stress and fatigue there is,” Sean Tagg, a conditioner for Pure Sports Medicine who also works with Fulham football club, said. “The fitter he becomes, his finer-movement skills improve.”

Throughout the 1990s, Taylor was largely unchallenged, but that supremacy may be a thing of the past. Players such as Colin Lloyd, Mick McGowan and Van Barneveld have raised their standards and there are lots of young talents out there, including from such emerging countries as South Africa, Japan, China and Thailand.

“I go to the Far East and you would not believe that they practise between six and seven hours a day,” Taylor said. “The young players coming through are so dedicated. They make us look like amateurs the way they practise. It is up to me to raise my standard.”

Until the final, Taylor had barely been stretched, dropping only one set on the way. He plans to play until he is 60, but he remains his own fiercest critic, even after 13 world titles. “It will make me a stronger player and I will be ready for the next year,” Taylor said.

It's not over...

Raymond van Barneveld’s victory over Phil Taylor can take its place among the great sporting comebacks

Dennis Taylor, World Championship, 1985 After losing the first seven frames of the snooker final, Taylor beat Steve Davis 18-17, winning the deciding frame on a respotted black
Nick Faldo, Masters, 1996: Greg Norman’s six-stroke lead over Faldo vanished in alarming fashion as he shed four strokes in three holes round the turn and Faldo won his third Masters
England v Australia, Headingley, 1981: Ian Botham’s 149 not out and Bob Willis’s eight wickets created an epic Ashes comeback at odds of 500-1
Liverpool v AC Milan, Champions League final, 2005: Liverpool trailed by three goals at half-time but were inspired by Steve Gerrard to draw level and win a penalty shoot-out
Grand National, Aintree, 1973: Red Rum came back from more than 30 lengths behind to pip Crisp at the finishing post for the first of his three wins

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