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Gemma Hayter hopes her unexpected journey to the World Championships can inspire other women to take up sport.
32 year old will make him Alexandra Palace On Friday, he will face world number 10 Josh Rock, who will return to the game in 2024 after a gap of eight years.
Hayter admits she never thought such an experience would be possible as she walked away from the game in 2016 due to the lack of opportunities for female players.
She hopes to become the first woman to win in Ally Palli Fallen SherrockBut knows she’s taking on a big task as one of five women competing in the first round this year.
“It would mean everything, it’s something I never thought I’d do,” Hayter told the Press Association.
“It’s something I never thought I’d get to experience living there. I’m really looking forward to it.”
“But I think it’s so important that women are seen as well. It’s a huge thing for me. If I did this after leaving for eight, nine years, I just wish it would encourage more women and more girls into the sport.
“And if it does that, it’s worth it.”
Hayter’s rise to the top of the women’s game, where she competes with the likes of Beau Greaves, Lisa Ashton and Sherrock, is impressive considering how long she was out of the game.
But it didn’t take long for him to get back into rhythm.
“I would probably say it was like I had never gone away,” she said. “It was weird because my partner hit a board, and then I was throwing at home, and I said to him, ‘Oh, these are going really well’.
“And then we saw when the women’s series was and it started in March, so I started throwing again in January. Then we went to the first women’s series and I got to the semi-finals.
“I thought I’d probably never do it again, but I’ve won, I’ve been to finals, countless semi-finals.”
Hayter is very close to the world number two player Luke Humphriesin which this pair is playing together hampshire Youth League.
And it was Humphreys’s 2024 World Championships victory that inspired Hayter to return to Oche.
Hayter said, “We were both young players from Hampshire. I’m a year older than him and he obviously continued to play darts while I slowed down a bit.”
“But when I started thinking about getting back into it, he won his world championship.
“To see him win, it was a huge thing for me. And then he stayed there.
“He was my point of contact when contracts were being thrown at me. And he was a really big help.”
:: Gemma Hayter is the ambassador for darts brand, Red Dragon Darts.