Fallon Sherrock, the first female darts player to win a match at the PDC Worlds Championship, says women need more opportunities in professional darts. The 25-year old made history on Tuesday when she won in the second round against Ted Evetts.
‘I'm so proud to help put women's darts on the map,’ Sherrock told BBC Breakfast. ‘The women's game has come on leaps and bounds and it was time we beat a man.’
Sherrock, from Milton Keynes, was one of two women to qualify for the 96-player game and was only the fifth woman to play in the event. ‘There are more women that can play to my level, if not better - we just need more opportunities, she told the Victoria Derbyshire show. ‘There are only two women that can qualify but maybe raising it to four would help.’
During the 2017 BDO World Championships, Sherrock was subject to torrents of online abuse about her physical appearance after a reaction to treatment for kidney problems caused her face to swell. However, she says the comments inspired her to get better and ‘prove everyone wrong’.
‘In the sport itself it's fine, but online I have had constant sexist comments saying women are not as good as men,’ she said. ’I do not see myself at a physical disadvantage, we just do not get the opportunity to play against these men which is why you do not see it more often.
Sherrock also says female darts players don’t get as much promotion. ‘We do play against the men but it's not televised,’ she said. ‘If there was more on TV, it would be so much better. I hope [the victory over Evetts] inspires a lot of girls to take the sport up. It's competitive and fun and I would recommend anyone to try it.’
Her next game is against 47-year old Austrian Mensur Suljovic who she considers ‘one of the best in the world’.
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