Prakash Jiwa
Personal information
NicknameThe Apache
Born (1970-05-21) 21 May 1970 (age 53)
Rugby, Warwickshire, England
Home townRugby, Warwickshire
Darts information
Playing darts since1990
Darts23g Cuesoul
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Apache" by The Sugarhill Gang
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2008–
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 96: 2023
UK OpenLast 96: 2012, 2013

Prakash Jiwa (born 21 May 1970 in Rugby, Warwickshire) is an English-Indian professional darts player[1] He has won a tour card through Qualifying School to compete in Professional Darts Corporation events on three occasions.

PDC career

Jiwa qualified in 2010 as an amateur for the UK Open but lost in the first round to Simon Cunningham 6–4. He took part in the PDC Qualifying School in 2011 and earned a Tour Card to compete on the PDC Circuit full-time on the fourth and final day.[2] In 2012 he reached the quarter-finals of two UK Open qualifiers to enter the tournament itself in the second round, where he lost 4–2 to Mark Barilli.[3][4] Jiwa also reached the quarter-finals of the 12th Players Championship where he was edged out 6–5 by Michael van Gerwen.[5]

In 2013, Jiwa could not advance beyond the last 32 in any tournament and lost 5–1 to Terry Temple in the second round of the UK Open.[6] In September 2014 he won five games to play in the final of the 13th Challenge Tour event, but missed five darts for the title in the deciding leg to be defeated 5–4 by Mark Frost.[7] He matched his best performance on the main PDC tour at the final Players Championship of the year by reaching the quarter-finals in a run which began with a 6–4 victory over five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld. In the last eight he was whitewashed 6–0 by Peter Wright who averaged 108.65.[8]

Jiwa won a new two-year tour card in January 2015 by finishing joint fifth on the Q School Order of Merit.[9] The only European Tour event he could qualify for was the Dutch Darts Masters and he was defeated 6–4 by John Henderson in the first round.[10] Jiwa did not progress past the last 32 of any tournament during the year.[11]

The last 32 was the furthest he could reach in 2016 too, which he did in two Players Championship events.[12]

In 2017 he had to enter Q School again in order to regain his tour card, and did so on the first day. This was the third time Jiwa had come through the event and he said, with the help of new equipment, he was aiming to get into the top 64 on the Order of Merit in the next two years.[13] Jiwa entered the 2017 UK Open Qualifiers and picked up £250 on each of Qualifiers 3 and 6, but this proves insufficient to enter him in the 2017 UK Open. Jiwa hit poor form and claimed only £500 in prize money until the end of the season.

He won £750 in the sixth and final qualifier for the 2018 PDC UK Open, sealing a return to Butlin's Minehead Resort for the tournament. Unfortunately for him, the 'Apache' lost in a last leg decider in the First Round to Riley's Qualifier Jason Mold. Jiwa averaged 75.08 to Mold's 78.47. During 2018 Jiwa picked up £5,000 on the PDC Pro Tour from his participation in the Players Championship events, yet this did not assist him much in qualifying neither for the Players Championship Finals, nor the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship. Jiwa attempted to make his way to Alexandra Palace via the Tour Card Holders' Qualifier, but lost 4-6 to Madars Razma in the Last 12.

Jiwa failed to get past the Last 128 of any of the 4 PDC UK Q School events, which meant he was eligible to play only on the Challenge Your. His best run there came in the 2nd event, where he picked up £200 en route to the Last 16.

Jiwa returned to the 2020 PDC UK Q School, but runs to the Last 256, Last 16, Last 128 and a first round loss on the final day deprived him of any possibilities of returning on the professional circuit. Since then Jiwa has persisted playing only on the Challenge tour. He started to represent India instead of England in 2022, and he won Indian qualifier for World Championship beating Nitin Kumar in the final 6:4. That was his PDC World Championship debut at the age of 52. He lost in the first round to Madars Razma.

On 16 November 2023, Jiwa was one of three players suspended by the Darts Regulation Authority while an investigation was being carried out into suspicious betting patterns in the Modus Super Series.[14]

Personal life

Jiwa is based in Rugby, Warwickshire, and works as a warehouse manager.[5]

World Championship results

PDC

References

  1. ^ PDC darts player Prakash Jiwa completes 9 darter and Qualifies for European darts event
  2. ^ "Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Prakash Jiwa 2012". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  4. ^ "2012 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Wizard Ends Two-Year Wait!". PDC. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Prakash Jiwa 2013". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Frost Bites Back With Double Challenge Tour Success". PDC. Archived from the original on 30 September 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Seventh Heaven For Super Scot Anderson". PDC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  9. ^ "PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ^ "2015 PDC Dutch Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Prakash Jiwa 2015". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Prakash Jiwa 2016". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  13. ^ "2017 PDC Qualifying School Day One". PDC. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  14. ^ Shaw, Jamie (20 November 2023). "Prakash Jiwa, Andy Jenkins and Jack Main suspended by DRA over suspicious betting in Modus Super Series". www.live-darts.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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