Cheslyn Gie, who guided Mandela University back into the A section of the recent USSAs, will face an altogether different prospect when the national hockey team start their Olympic Games campaign in Paris on Saturday.
Following a lengthy period of preparation, the South African men’s team will hope to carry a lot of momentum into their first pool match, which will be against the Netherlands.
The other teams in their group are France, Great Britain, Germany and Spain.
The Team South Africa Hockey Men begin their Paris Journey on Saturday afternoon. You can catch the action live on Supersport Olympic Africa (209). Can the SA Men get off to a dream start against the brilliant Dutch.#ForMyCountry #HockeyInvites pic.twitter.com/yv1u3ue1kp
— SA Hockey (@SA_Hockey) July 25, 2024
Facing the best teams in the world excited Gie, who had been the team’s assistant coach in Tokyo.
“Competing in the Olympics is the absolute pinnacle of our sport and the excitement of attending never fades,” the Gqeberha local said.
“It’s such an amazing experience to be in the village and to rub shoulders with some of the best players and coaches on the planet.”
With their opponents all ranked above them, Gie hoped that their plan to make the top four in their group and thus the quarterfinals would come together at the showpiece.
“Obviously, we cannot reveal our specific strategies, but we have worked hard on how we play without the ball,” the Madibaz and national mentor said.
“As we are the lowest-ranked team here, we could spend a lot of time without the ball.”
He added that their attitude would be key.
“We need to show huge mental resolve and grit when things might go wrong. We want to be known as a side who are tough to beat.”
South Africa qualified for the Olympics by beating Egypt 2-1 in the Africa Hockey Road to Paris tournament to make their sixth Olympics appearance and second in a row.
The build-up, including a 10-day training camp in Belgium, has been intensive.
During that time, they competed against the Belgium U23 and Olympic teams and since arriving in Paris a week ago they have had friendlies against Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland.
Gie believed that the preparation had hit the mark and that they would be ready for tournament and, especially, their first match.
Although playing and management personnel had changed since Tokyo, he said lessons had been learnt.
“We know that we have to be brave and take the game to the opposition. We also realise that we have to be more controlled in our play.”
The squad offer Gie a mix of experience and emerging talent.
“For example, we have Bili Ntuli with more than 100 caps and Calvin Davis with only one official test match,” he said.
While the coach will be able to call on the services of star players Dayaan and Mustapha Cassiem, he will also rely heavily on the experience of Tevin Kok, Keenan Horne, Ryan Julius and drag flicker Matthew Guise-Brown.
The men from the rainbow nation will be once again looking to spring a surprise #Paris2024 🇿🇦🏑
— International Hockey Federation (@FIH_Hockey) July 23, 2024
📆 Here's how their squad schedule looks!
🔗 More details on https://t.co/0laK7Gr2Fg#Hockey #Hockeyinvites #Hockeyequals #SouthAfrica #Olympics@sa_hockey