Scoring goals and getting teams to win is a challenge Fourie relishes

Tegan Fourie played brilliantly for South Africa's women's team during the recent FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Pretoria. In eight games, she scored five goals. It ranked her among the top goal scorers of the tournament.

"At the moment, I've got 51 caps to my name and scored either 54 or 55 goals. Apparently, only two other South African female players have scored more than 50 goals in international indoor hockey."

There is a good reason why the Tuks player is unsure about her goal tally. It is because she is a team player. She scores to help her team to win and not for personal glory. For this reason, the goal she scored against Belgium was special. It helped South Africa to progress to the World Cup semifinals.

"Winning our quarterfinal game was indescribable. A dream come true. Before the start of the tournament, we hoped to contest the quarterfinals. Beating Belgium meant we went one better. It has helped us improve our international ranking to be one of the top six teams in the world."

Fourie's got 13 caps playing for South Africa's outdoor hockey team. She has set her goal to try and be one of the players selected to represent South Africa at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

According to the Tuks player, she finds playing both game formats beneficial.

"I have been playing both formats from a young age. It means I have never struggled to adapt from indoor hockey to outdoor hockey or vice versa. They complement each other, which is nice. Playing indoors is undoubtedly more intense. So I have found that I am much faster when I play outdoors afterwards."

When the Tuks hockey captain dribbles the ball past opponents, most will not realise what a remarkable story she has to tell. It is one in which the words 'never quit' is spelt in capital letters.

Fourie was diagnosed as having type one diabetes when she was five. It could have meant an immediate end to playing hockey. But even at such a young age, Fourie somehow knew she would continue what she loved doing. That was playing hockey.

To her, life is living every day to its fullest. But she admits that it is not always easy.

"Some days can be challenging. Managing living with diabetes can be unpredictable... maybe unpredictable is the wrong word. It is just at times, what happens in one's body is hard to explain, which frustrates me. But there was never a time I wondered why I was 'dealt this card'."