Van den Bergh Living Lockdown Dream with World Champ Wright
DANCING Dimitri Van den Bergh admits he’s “living the lockdown dream” with Scottish World Champion Peter Wright.
The rising Belgian star has been staying with the Wright family in Suffolk after the Government ordered the “Stay At Home” message back in March, meaning he had to stay in the UK.
But the World No.28 has revealed he’s loving life collecting eggs on the farm and studying Snakebite’s throwing ability.
He said: “I’ve been here with the Wrights since lockdown. To be fair I’m having a great time, it’s like we’ve know each other for years. They feel like family, it’s like they’ve adopted me!
“I miss my family obviously so much. I talk to my family a lot on the phone obviously. I can also do this on Zoom or FaceTime so I can see them.
“The only difference is that I’m not able to give them a hug. We can talk and laugh and send videos of funny things. Thank God for modern technology.
“Besides that I just keep myself busy by playing darts, I’m not in any stress at all. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed.
“On the other side, I’m learning more about me now. I can see that I can handle this. This is making me stronger for the future.
“I’ve been told by other people I am living the dream with the World Champion.
“In the first couple of days Peter said if you want let’s go and have a walk around and collect the eggs. He said to me hold this basket and the only thing you need to do is not drop the basket. That was a big responsibility for me!
“It is very nice to stop for some time and think about everything and what my life looks like. Being here with the Wrights and the World Champion’s home, it also opens my eyes to see what I can have in the future if I keep working hard.”
Former World Youth Champion Van den Bergh, 25, has also had a big insight into the studious side of Wright’s understanding of his throw and mega collection of arrows - but he won’t be following his hairstyles.
He added: “It’s unbelievable to see how Peter understands his game. I have been the busiest finding out how many darts he actually has. It’s more than 300!
“But the fact is I’ve seen him throw with 25 sets of darts, different set-up, size of flights, shape, weight. It’s amazing how he knows that when he throws his darts he absolutely understands what doesn’t feel right.
“He then knows exactly what other dart he can pick up to correct that. I’m looking at the way he throws them, he is just phenomenal how much he studies the game. I still haven’t won a game against him.
“I think we are quite similar in lots of ways. He works a lot with his mind and I am also a confidence player. I do think during the games, sometimes too much. I think that is something that will change through the years I guess.
“Dancing is something we definitely have in common. We are both World Champions who dance on the stage. But my hair will stay the way it is, normal style, normal colours!
“I’m not just making them look good. The Wrights are genuinely very sweet, lovely people, down to earth. You know what, they’re also very funny. I’ve laughed my socks off here.”
Phil Lanning| 5-times award-winning journalist/publicist
LannoMedia Ltd.