Full-time vet David Munyua reveals he wanted to keep Ally Pally wasp

Munyua wanted to keep the Ally Pally wasp as a good luck charm.
Full-time vet David Munyua reveals he wanted to keep Ally Pally wasp
David Munyua befriended the Ally Pally wasp during his historic win at the World Championship (John Walton/PA)

Kenyan darts hero David Munyua wanted to keep the Ally Pally wasp as a good luck charm after his historic World Championship win.

Munyua stunned 18th seed Mike De Decker on Thursday, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on his debut and claim one of the biggest ever shocks in the tournament’s history.

His victory came after the famous insect landing on his face midway through the match, with Munyua swatting it away and then attempting to put it in his pocket.

“I got it. I tried to put it in my pocket to stay with me because I love going through tough things,” he said.

“I would do my stuff with it, win or lose. But I don’t know how it escaped.

“I’ve seen how it’s been interfering with other players. At this place you need maximum concentration, so when you have a little disturbance, you need to get over it.

“So, I tried to get it come my way and stay with me.”

However, the flying pest was later seen causing nuisance during the evening session when it landed on Dave Chisnall’s shirt.

It is no surprise that Munyua wanted to befriend the insect as he works as a full-time vet in Nairobi.

“Being a veterinarian in my country and also a darts player, there’s so many challenges you need to face to combine the both,” he added.

“I have a passion in veterinary and treating animals, I also have a passion in growing sports in our area.

The wasp has been causing trouble throughout the tournament (Bradley Collyer/PA)

“During the day I’m dealing with my animals, but at the night I’m playing darts.

“I’m on call a lot of the time, so I can be throwing darts and then get a call.”

The Ally Pally wasp has been one of the biggest stars of the tournament so far, causing constant problems for the players.

It got a little too close to the action when it got hit by Nitin Kumar during his historic win over Richard Veenstra, while Martin Lukeman appeared to be stung during the opening leg of his match against Max Hopp on Monday evening.

It has strong survival instincts as Jurjen van der Velde arrived on stage with a can of insect spray ahead of his match with Danny Noppert.

Van der Velde made a show of spraying the aerosol around and above his head before the match got under way.

However, much like Munyua, it lived to fight another day.

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