Vincent D'Hondt on career as a paradarter: ''It's the recognition I do it for''

The 50-year-old Vincent D'Hondt had to go through life in a wheelchair after an accident. The Belgian paradarter now has many titles to his name, including five world championships.  In an interview with Double Top, he talked about his accident and his career.

In his young and vital years, D'Hondt was already fanatical about darts. ''At the age of 12 I was throwing in competitions and it turned out that I could handle the darts well. I then threw mostly local tournaments in the men's.'' At age 22, however, D'Hondt encountered another love. ''The world of drinking a lot did not go together with the love of my life, so then I stopped from one day to the next.''

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In 2002, Vincent D'Hondt had a bad accident that forced him to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. At his job as an electrician, a ladder collapsed while he was climbing. ''The fall from the ladder broke my back. At such a moment you knew immediately that you were paralyzed. I could no longer move my legs. After my surgery, I had a long rehabilitation. You have to relearn everything.''

Even though D'Hondt tried to stay positive, there were also some down moments. "When you come home after nine months, you fall into a black hole. For me it was actually the hardest thing to see how my partner's life changed because of it. D'Hondt was assisted by his great love. ''It is very important to have someone you can fall back on. Together we have built a beautiful life with 3 children. We learned to live with it in a positive way.''

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Despite his limitations, D'Hondt remained optimistic. ''My vision is that you can only do one thing and that is to continue. With me that button was easy, I had a beautiful wife, I had many plans and I was still relatively young. Step by step you learn to live with it.''

D'Hondt explains to Double Top how he got back into darts after his accident. ''When I saw the first world championship I immediately put up a board in my yard. I started playing some tournaments and after 6months I was allowed to participate in the world championship.'' Meanwhile, D'Hondt has 25 paradarts titles to his name. Although paradarts does not make as much money as the regular circuit, D'Hondt has enough motivation to continue. ''By the recognition of others I keep doing this.''