ENGLISH DARTS PLAYER James Wade has been slammed for his “thuggish behaviour” during, and after, his PDC World Darts Championship win last night.
The World number nine said he “really wanted to hurt” his Japanese opponent, Seigo Asada, as he aggressively shouted in his face during the match he won 3-2.
Wade was given a huge scare at Alexandra Palace, but eventually did enough to prevail.
“I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face,” he told Sky Sports afterwards.
“It wasn’t a great game but I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to progress. That’s for my son, and also for the UK.”
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He re-emphasised: “I done it for my son, my country.
"I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face."
Some bizarre post-match comments from James Wade after his tie-break win over Seigo Asada.
“It’s all good, I dug in deep there. It’s a magnificent feeling, I could have easily lost that. I didn’t think he had that game in him, I really didn’t. How I won that game, I don’t know.”
Former player Wayne Mardle, who was working as a TV pundit, described Wade’s behaviour as “thuggish” and was appalled by his antics on the night.
“Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face? What does he mean? I’m absolutely lost for words,” Mardle said.
“That’s just not on. The intimidation, overly aggressive, I hope he wakes up in the morning and thinks, ‘I’ve made a mistake there’.
"Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face? What does he mean? I am absolutely lost for words."@Wayne501Mardle is astonished after an explosive post-match interview from James Wade.
“He can’t think that’s right and no one watching it can think it’s right. That’s thuggish behaviour, there’s no place in darts for that.”
Wade has since apologised for his actions, tweeting out a statement.
“I was fighting a battle with myself before I even got on to the stage due to a hypo mania episode which can happen to me at any time, and no one is more upset than I am about what happened,” he added.
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'I wanted to hurt him... I did it for the UK' - Wade slammed for 'thuggish behaviour'
Updated 11.05
ENGLISH DARTS PLAYER James Wade has been slammed for his “thuggish behaviour” during, and after, his PDC World Darts Championship win last night.
The World number nine said he “really wanted to hurt” his Japanese opponent, Seigo Asada, as he aggressively shouted in his face during the match he won 3-2.
Wade was given a huge scare at Alexandra Palace, but eventually did enough to prevail.
“I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face,” he told Sky Sports afterwards.
“It wasn’t a great game but I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to progress. That’s for my son, and also for the UK.”
He re-emphasised: “I done it for my son, my country.
“It’s all good, I dug in deep there. It’s a magnificent feeling, I could have easily lost that. I didn’t think he had that game in him, I really didn’t. How I won that game, I don’t know.”
Former player Wayne Mardle, who was working as a TV pundit, described Wade’s behaviour as “thuggish” and was appalled by his antics on the night.
“Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face? What does he mean? I’m absolutely lost for words,” Mardle said.
“That’s just not on. The intimidation, overly aggressive, I hope he wakes up in the morning and thinks, ‘I’ve made a mistake there’.
“He can’t think that’s right and no one watching it can think it’s right. That’s thuggish behaviour, there’s no place in darts for that.”
Wade has since apologised for his actions, tweeting out a statement.
“I was fighting a battle with myself before I even got on to the stage due to a hypo mania episode which can happen to me at any time, and no one is more upset than I am about what happened,” he added.
After twice coming from a set down to progress to the third round, Wade will now face Dutchman Jelle Klaasen or England’s Keegan Brown next.
The major talking point came last night when the 35-year-old attempted to intimidate Asada by shouting in his face after levelling at 1-1.
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Darts intimidating James Wade seigo asada