'The Bullet' Endures Major Fright as Nitin Kumar Secures A Landmark for India.
The tournament's fourth seed narrowly avoided an early exit to progress into the second round of the world darts championship on Sunday.
'The Bullet', who reached beaten semi-finalist last year, was forced all the way to a deciding tie-breaker by Poland’s Sebastian Bialecki before finally clinching a hard-fought victory at Alexandra Palace.
A Rollercoaster Battle
Bunting stormed out of the blocks, averaging an incredible 119.4 en route to powering through the first set. The win appeared certain after checking out a spectacular 160 finish to claim the second set.
However, his momentum stalled, and he won just one leg over the subsequent two sets. This allowed Bialecki – who remained oblivious even when a wasp settled on his shoulder – to draw level. Bunting found his rhythm in the decider, but was still taken to the wire before winning it 4-2.
“Performing at Ally Pally you go through all the emotions,” Bunting told Sky Sports. “I knew Sebastian was going to be difficult and even at 2-0 he never gave in. I am lucky to come through that one.”
Kumar Creates Landmark Victory
Bunting's second-round foe will be 'The Royal Bengal', who created a landmark by becoming the initial victor from India at the tournament. He defeated Dutchman Richard Veenstra 3-2 in a thrilling contest.
The 40-year-old, who had lost in all four of his previous first-round appearances, implied this landmark win could have “paved the way to a billion” darts players from his homeland.
“Words fail me right now. I’m emotional, I’m delighted,” Kumar expressed. “With belief, anything is possible. This was my dream ever since I watched Dennis Priestley win the World Championship.”
He joked with a light-hearted warning: “I’m sorry, a decade in the future if you have multiple players in the world championship entering to Indian film songs, you know who started it.”
Further First-Round Action
- Darren Beveridge: The Scottish debutant made an convincing start, averaging 91.62 in a comprehensive 3-0 win over Belgium's Dimitri Van den Bergh, who managed just one leg.
- Jonny Tata: Another debutant, from New Zealand, ended the hopes of world No. 27 Ritchie Edhouse with a commanding 3-0 victory.
- Dom Taylor: The fellow newcomer saw off Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak by the same 3-0 scoreline.
- Joe Cullen: The world No. 32 was in fine fettle as he eased past Bradley Brooks 3-0.
- Wesley Plaisier: The Dutchman beat Germany’s Lukas Wenig 3-1.
- James Hurrell: Concluded the evening's play with a 3-1 victory over America’s Stowe Buntz.