For Aaron Hardy, Friday evening at the Austrian Darts Open was about more than just winning or losing. The English expat, who lives in Austria, lost 6-3 to Krzysztof Ratajski in the opening round, but experienced a special moment in his career: standing on a Euro Tour stage for the first time in eleven years. Although the defeat clearly hurt, feelings of pride and relief were strongest afterwards for the Englishman as he spoke to DartsNews.
Hardy honestly admitted that he struggled with his equipment during the match. According to the Englishman, an experiment with different dart points went completely wrong. "Fantastic, really pleased. I’m just a little disappointed with the performance. I’ve been trying different things with the points and it didn’t work today. It was a bit of a disaster, but you learn from a loss. I’m thinking positively because I’ve learned something from it," he said. Hardy started strongly against Ratajski, winning the opening leg, but after that he increasingly struggled to control his game. "Yeah, in the warm-up and in practice I felt good, but somehow on stage the darts weren’t flying the way I expected. I don’t know if it was the pressure or the occasion, but I struggled. I got so many strange deflections. It really was probably the worst game I’ve played in a long time. I’m very disappointed, but I’m happy to play against such a great player like Krzysztof Ratajski. He’s a fantastic guy and a fantastic professional."
The fact that Hardy was back on a Euro Tour stage after eleven years did not happen by accident. The Englishman stayed involved in darts throughout that entire period, even though he was no longer competing at the highest level. "Yeah, absolutely. I’ve always been playing darts, always practising at home and trying to improve my technique and get better. I feel good. I feel like I’m coming back, or getting back to my best. I’m really pleased. Just to get here was fantastic." Qualifying for Graz felt like a huge reward for all those years of work. "Unbelievable. I was very happy. I mean, I’m sad for my friends as well, but personally I was delighted."
Hardy also spoke openly about his life outside darts. The Englishman moved from London to Austria back in 2003 and built a new life there. Nowadays he works at a golf course in Steinerkirchen. "It was, yeah. I’ve been working on the golf course and now I’m at Enns in Steinerkirchen. It’s a beautiful golf course and it’s a lovely place. The people are absolutely fantastic — very friendly, and it’s been a great time." During the interview it became clear just how much Austria means to Hardy nowadays. "It’s fabulous. The people, the culture, I love it very much. The food, the beer, it’s all there. The people are friendly, warm, caring, loving. Great people."
Even his walk-on song was deliberately chosen as a nod to Austria. Hardy selected “Fürstenfeld”, an iconic Austrian song. "Yeah, 100 percent. It’s one of my absolute favourites. I absolutely love it. It’s a perfect link to the location here and I thought it was something to get the crowd going. It’s a great song." Despite his clear disappointment with his own level, Hardy mainly enjoyed the fact that he was once again part of a major Professional Darts Corporation tournament. After eleven years away, simply standing on the stage already felt like a victory in itself.
