Jansen on how tractor accident cut short football career before switch to darts: "I broke my leg and I had in ten years, 12 operations"
PDCSunday, 25 December 2022 at 15:00
On his debut, Danny Jansen as he has throughout his debut year has garned attention at the PDC World Darts Championship. Despite losing in the second round, his hair in particular saw 'The Mullet' in front of a new audience of fans.
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Jansen who only picked up a set of darts six years ago after a tractor accident couldn't have dreamt to be at this point and discussed switching from a burgeoning career in football to darts in a chat with his father alongside Abigail Davies for the PDC.
"I had an accident on a farm, I broke my leg and I had ten years, 12 operations. Not anymore did I have choice to play football, I was done. My dad was already a dart player so he said why don't you try to play darts. I said well I can't play football anymore, let's give it a try and he said yeah you have some talent,"
"We try and we are here six years later. I really wanted to do something with my life and I didn't want to sit down and feel sad. That's what I did and now six years later, I'm at the World Championship so I'm proud of myself."
His Dad spoke about seeing his son grow into a dart player and when he knew he could be good with Marco being a good player himself.
"Very quickly, he had a nice throw and we went to our first tournament together. We played doubles and we win it, that was a great picture," said Marco.
"It was a very hard time for us as a family (when he got injured) but we managed. When he took his Tour Card, I was so proud."
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As well as the experience of seeing his son on the big stage in a whirlwind year for the whole Jansen family.
"Very very hard. I know he can play better, it's so tough. That experience you cannot practice that, you must learn it on the stage."
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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