Fink strikes the big time

If David Fink had to choose his proudest moment during last month’s Masters Hockey World Cup in Cape Town, it would be his overhead pass that led to Gavin Jelly’s tap-in goal in their opening match against Germany.

Fink practised the move repeatedly, and once he had mastered it, he thought there was no bigger stage to execute it than in a world cup with the world watching.

“I eventually realised I was capable and wanted to test it on a world-class stage. When it happened, the flood of emotions that hit me was indescribable. It has gone viral and been seen by over 186 000 people,” he said.

Fink felt a sense of pride leading the national men’s over-35s International Masters Cup team that clinched the IMC Cup gold after beating Australia 2-1 in the final, following years of longing to wear the green and gold to represent SA.

“It truly was an honour,” he said.

He will cherish his medal forever, but nothing will beat walking into the field with his family watching and standing next to his teammates to belt out the national anthem in their first tournament match. It’s a moment Fink had wanted since he was 15, and finally achieving it as a 38-year-old was “incredible”.

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“I will never forget raising my right hand over my Protea badge, looking over to our bench, seeing my son, Josh, wife, Angelique, and my other son on the stands, with my late son Noah hopefully watching from heaven and my parents and friends standing proud and tall with us. I took it all in and sang my heart out.”

Fink first picked up a hockey stick at 12 at Christian Brothers’ College Boksburg. He played for the school’s first from Grade 10 until matric and represented Eastern Gauteng’s U21 outdoor side in a tournament in Potchefstroom as a 15-year-old.

After going through the ranks and representing the region in most age groups indoors and outdoors, he took a two-year break but returned in 2008 to play for Benoni Northerns and currently holds the record for most goals after scoring 106 in 178 games.

He played his first masters tournament in 2019, where Easterns earned its first inter-provincials medal after placing third.

“I have played in the number eight for my entire hockey career except in the world cup, where I wore number five to represent my family of five. Seeing my name on the green and gold with the number five below it was a special moment.”

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