• ‘I wanted to really hurt him in his face,’ said Wade after 3-2 win • Mardle: ‘That’s thuggish behaviour. There’s no place for that’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

James Wade was accused of thuggish behaviour after saying he wanted to hurt Seigo Asada in his nailbiting win over the Japanese qualifier.

Wade, the world No 9, battled back from a set down to beat the Asian Tour No 2 player 3-2 but the match was overshadowed by his actions on stage as he appeared to be feeling the pressure. He shouted in the direction of his opponent after levelling the match at 1-1, and later defended his aggressive behaviour.

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“I dug in deep there. It’s a magnificent feeling. I could have easily lost that. I’ve done it for my son, for my country, so it’s good,” he told Sky Sports.

“I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face. 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.”

The former player Wayne Mardle, working as a pundit, described Wade’s behaviour as “thuggish” and said there was no place in darts for it.

“Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face? What does he mean? I’m absolutely lost for words,” Mardle told Sky Sports. “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, who won the European Championship in October, will face Jelle Klaasen or Keegan Brown in the next round.