The one guaranteed way to get Samkelo Mvimbi’s adrenaline pumping is to give him a hockey stick and tell him a team’s honour is at stake. It is why the 22-year-old Tuks student can’t wait to go to Tokyo to represent South Africa at the Olympic Games. Ever since he took up hockey, his dream was to test his skills against the world’s best. Finally, it will be a reality when South Africa plays Great Britain in their first game in Tokyo in a little bit more than three weeks. As a midfielder/centre-link, Mvimbi lives for the moment the opposition’s defence is caught off-guard, and the ball hits the back of the net. To him, it does not matter who scores as long as it is a teammate. “Hockey is about what is best for the team. I am not obsessed with personal statistics. If the team wins, I win. I see my role as being a link between the defenders and the strikers. The aim is never to pass the ball only for the sake of doing so. There needs to be a plan with each pass.  I like to take the game forward, setting up scoring opportunities,” he explained during his last interview before the team’s departure to Japan. Mvimbi debuted in 2019 for the Proteas’ senior side, playing against Namibia. Up to now, he has 14 caps to his name. When asked whether he has scored any goals for the Proteas, the Tuks player laughs.

“I guess the jury is still out as to whether I have or have not. My name flashed on the scoreboard in the recent series against Namibia as having scored a goal, but I am unsure if my stick guided the ball into the net. But I am not going to question the scorers,” he said with a smile. Mvimbi has no qualms as to the challenge that awaits him and his teammates in Tokyo. “We are definitely perceived to be the underdogs. Sort of ‘amateurs’ taking on the professionals. As players, we had ample time to discuss how our Olympic campaign might play out. We promised each other that we are not going to Tokyo to make up the numbers. Our aim is to try and qualify for the quarterfinals. If we do, who knows what might happen then. The reality, however, is that we shall need to be on top of our game each time we take to the Astroturf,” Mvimbi remarked. South Africa is in Group B with Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Germany. Mvimbi was not always a hockey player. His first love used to be trying to outfox opponents with fancy footwork in football games, but things changed when he enrolled at Oakhill School in Knysna. It could be said that he had fallen in love with the game the first time he dribbled the ball past an opponent. He is, however, still a passionate Liverpool supporter.  

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