English star ‘wanted ‘to hurt opponent’

England darts star James Wade has been accused of ‘‘thuggish behaviour’’ in his world championship secondround win over Seigo Asada yesterday.

The world No 9 said he ‘‘wanted to really hurt’’ his Japanese opponent, with the bizarre admission coming in the wake of his come-frombehind victory over the 38-year-old qualifier at London’s Alexandra Palace.

Wade, 35, twice came from a set down to eventually win 3-2, with the biggest talking point coming when he aggressively shouted in Asada’s face after levelling the contest at 1-1.

After the match, Wade – a three-time semifinalist at the event – had no remorse for what were seen to be intimidatory actions.

‘‘I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face,’’ Wade said when interviewed on Sky Sports.

‘‘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.’’

Working as a television pundit, former England player Wayne Mardle was highly unimpressed by the incident, feeling Wade had crossed the line.

‘‘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. I hope he wakes up in the morning and thinks, ‘I’ve made a mistake there’.