Wade so sorry for Asada flare-up
JAMES WADE has apologised for his “intimidation” of Seigo Asada and revealed his ongoing battle against mental illness was behind the outburst.
But his plea for forgiveness has not stopped him being referred to disciplinary chiefs at the Darts Regulation Authority.
‘The Machine’ survived a white-knuckle ride against ‘Ninja’ Asada before scraping home 3-2 in a late-night thriller at the William Hill PDC World Championship on Wednesday.
But the No.9 seed ruined the result with his excessive celebration after levelling the contest at 1-1, invading Asada’s personal space with a sudden and manic double-fisted gesture which startled the underdog.
Wade made the problem worse by claiming he did it “for my son and my country” in a toecurling post-match interview.
Sky Sports pundit Wayne Mardle then branded the Aldershot left-hander’s behaviour “bullying” and “unacceptable”.
Stunned by the backlash, Wade issued an apology overnight, saying: “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise sincerely for my actions last night.
“Seigo Asada (right) is a great player and I would like to say sorry to him, the fans and the PDC.
“Anyone who has followed my professional career will know this was out of character for me. I am disappointed in myself with the way I acted both on stage and in my interviews after the match.
“I was fighting a battle with myself before I even got on the stage due to a hypomania episode, which can happen to me at any time, and no one is more upset than I am about what happened.
“I would like to apologise again and I hope people can understand how remorseful I am.”
When he married walk-on girl Sammi Marsh, and baby son Arthur was born 10 weeks ago, Wade’s personal life appeared to be falling into place.
And back-to-back TV titles at the European Championship and World Series finals last month gave his career on the oche fresh impetus.
However, Wade’s mission to win major tournaments as the premise for his son enjoying a comfortable upbringing will be short-lived if he carries on like he did against Japan’s Asada.