DARTS
DALE darts ace Kirsty Hutchinson began her WDF World Championship campaign with a comfortable first round win against Japanese thrower Mayumi Ouchi.
Despite making last year’s final at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Kirsty, ranked 10 by the World Darts Federation, is unseeded for the 2023 competition.
Her reward for the 2-0 win against Ouchi is a last 16 encounter with number six seed Wendy Harper, from New Zealand.
Kirsty, from Middleton-in-Teesdale and plays for the Forresters in the Barnard Castle league, said she was pleased with her first round performance, although she found the slow play of her opponent frustrating.
“I think I played all right, given the pace she was playing at and I kept composed while she did her thing.
“There is definitely room for improvement,” she added.
It was Ouchi’s first appearance at the world championships, but the two players had met once previously at a competition in Holland last December when the Japanese star won.
Kirsty will also be out to settle the score with Harper, who defeated her when the pair met for the only time to date in the Australian open.
They will take to the oche on Thursday afternoon.
In the build-up to the world championships, Kirsty has been in decent form, competing on both the WDF and PDC tours, and in October she won the Belgian Open.
She is in the opposite side of the draw to top seed and odds-on favourite Beau Greaves, who defeated Kirsty in last year’s final.
However, if she is to progress, as well as overcoming Harper, Kirsty could also come up against established names, such as Lisa Ashton and Lorraine Winstanley.
