Martin Schindler isn’t interested in being the best player in Germany – or what Michael van Gerwen has to say about him. By ranking, Schindler is his country’s leading hope for success at the World Championship, although he won’t be alone, with a record number of German throwers descending on Alexandra Palace.
The likes of Ricardo Pietreczko and rising star Niko Springer are among the players who could usurp him one day, but Schindler doesn’t feel threatened by them. The only metric he is interested in is his standing in the world game. On whether being officially the best player in Germany means anything to him, Schindler is clear: “I think it’s more of a marketing thing than an actual thing, because you need to play good darts if you want to proceed in the game. If you don’t play good darts, what does being the German number one mean? Being 64 in the world and being German number one, what’s the point in that? The world rankings count for me.”
Therefore, he brushed off Van Gerwen’s surprise claim during the recent Grand Slam that Springer, who has had just one year on the PDC Tour, is the best German player of all time.
“I’ve been doing my way now for eight years and I’m still here. I’m still playing, I’m progressing and I’m in the top 16 in the world,” he says when the Dutchman’s bold claim is put to him.
“I definitely have a fighter heart and he cannot talk me out of it. Niko is a great player who has done very good things this year. He will find his way, I will find my way.
“Like I say, I don’t care about this German number one stuff. Only the main ranking counts because it is way more important. Michael can say whatever he wants. He has done that before.
“And when he was saying these things, I won tournaments after that. He can keep doing that if he wants to. Bad words can only be motivating; they are not bringing me down.”
With Germany being the PDC’s biggest market after the UK, the sport’s bean counters would welcome a major winner from the country. Gabriel Clemens beat a headphone-wearing Gerwyn Price to reach the semi-finals three years ago but has failed to build on that run since.
Schindler, who begins his World Championship campaign against Stephen Burton on Wednesday night, is certain it is a case of when, not if, that particular glass ceiling is shattered. He says: “I’m pretty sure we’re going to see a German major winner soon.
“The question is, how many years? One year, two years, five years, but we will get there, I’m pretty sure of that. The quality in our country is rising. So many young players are coming through nowadays. I’m pretty sure they will find their way through to the PDC.
“The interest is getting really big because of Gabriel Clemens getting to the semis. Also, because of Luke Littler winning the Worlds, it’s made it so much bigger.”
Somewhat reluctantly, Schindler has become something of a celebrity in his own right. He says: “Five years ago, when I was going shopping, I was never getting recognised. Now, when I go out, it’s a habit that I will get recognised and get asked for selfies and autographs.”
Asked if he enjoys the extra attention, he admits: “To be honest, not that much! But it’s good when you’re getting that kind of attention because you’re doing something right.
“It means you are progressing with your game. But I was never the guy who needed to be in the middle point [centre of attention].”
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