Danny Noppert battled through a severe stomach bug to defeat Alan Soutar and reach the final day of the Austrian Darts Open, but admitted he nearly withdrew from the tournament. Speaking to DartsNews, Noppert revealed he has been struggling with a nasty stomach bug, spending the last couple of days on the toilet with little sleep. “What can I say? It’s been a battle the last couple of days. I’ve had such a bad stomach. I don’t know why. A lot of problems on the toilet and less sleep,” he said.
Noppert’s match against Soutar went to a brutal last-leg decider, with Soutar missing match darts. Noppert, who just wanted to get off stage, admitted his performance was lacking. “There wasn’t a performance here tonight as well, but I’m happy that I won and I’m still fighting. Maybe a little bit better than yesterday. Yesterday I thought, ‘I can’t play today,’ but I’m still waiting for the moment where I feel good again.” He added that his stomach was “spinning around” early in the match, though he felt a bit better after three or four legs.
To combat the illness, Noppert has been eating eggs and bananas. “No, I feel unwell and I win as well! Yes, of course, I’m having eggs and bananas to try and improve again. I don’t know why, but sometimes my stomach just doesn’t go my way.” He now faces Cristo Reyes on Sunday, who hit a nine-dart finish earlier in the tournament.
Noppert also praised fellow Dutchman Wessel Nijman, who won his fifth ProTour title of the year earlier this week. “Unbelievable. For him, it’s like a local tournament or something. He wins it easy and he plays so well. Hopefully I will find that range as well in the future, but when it happens, I don’t know. So far, not really, but like last week, one semi-final on the ProTour — it’s okay, but I will fight.”
