From Zwide to the Olympic stage, Mali’s dream comes alive in Paris
Maties Hockey player and 2023 Sportswoman of the Year, Ongeziwe Mali is living out her Olympic dream after being selected to form part of the South African Women’s Hockey team at the Olympic Games in Paris, France from 26 July to 11 August.
The start of Mali’s hockey journey
From humble beginnings in a small township named Zwide in the Eastern Cape, Mali started her journey in hockey at the age of ten through a close friend. Mali attests to an important reminder to people starting in sport that should be remembered: “Your environmental background does not necessarily dictate your future, but it does shape who you are as a person”. Although playing hockey/sport may have seemed unattainable then, she is now a role model for the younger generation to dream as big as she did.
Having never played the sport before or having distinct role models to look up to at the national team level, Mali admittedly did not set her sights too far in the future and did not imagine making a provincial or national team. However, her fate changed when she was selected for the Eastern Cape provincial hockey team and was later the youngest hockey player (18) to represent South Africa at the Commonwealth Games hosted in Australia in 2018. She is no stranger to the green and gold, having 30 caps to her name. After a stint in the United States at James Madison University, Mali ventured back to South Africa and joined Stellenbosch University where she is studying towards a BA Education degree which she is currently balancing with her sporting commitments.
In 2023, Mali had a stellar year bagging several individual accolades including the Sportswoman of the Year at Maties Sport and at the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Hockey championships she won gold and took home three awards – Women of the Match (final), Top goal scorer of the Tournament and Player of the Tournament.
Achieving her Olympic dream
Mali describes the journey to the Olympics as challenging, with moments of doubt and setbacks related to fitness and selection but she relied on her faith and support from family and friends to persevere and keep pushing forward. Having pinpointed fitness as something within her control that she was determined to improve on, Mali put in the work to make sure her testing scores reflected international standards. She recalls in her last testing, achieving a significant fitness milestone (18.3 in a yoyo test) which helped secure her place in the women’s hockey provisional team that went on camp in Asia ahead of the Olympics.
The 25-year-old was given the opportunity to be part of the training camp that ran for five weeks in China and India, where she played a total of 19 games. “India being who they are in hockey, are such a great team and they play in the Pro League. Playing a team like that prior to the Olympics as well as the preparation we had was also something that was beneficial for us and they were close friendly matches in the 38° heat and humidity,” Mali explained. Mali was determined to give it her all knowing she had nothing to lose but to prove she was capable of making the Olympic team.
For Mali, learning from the different styles of hockey played in China and India, not only helped in preparation for the Olympics but taught her to “go back to the basics”. She made the Olympic team after showcasing her abilities during the camp and is joined by five Maties Hockey alumni in the squad, “It’s nice to train with some of the former Maties and we have a lot of pride being able to come from the same university. We want to hold the university and Maties Hockey name high at the Olympics and it is really something that we don’t take for granted,” she said.
Mali admits that she feels a mix of excitement and nervousness about participating in the Olympics and says the emotion hasn’t sunk in yet. “I’m really excited and very happy that I was faithful through the journey and I never gave up,” said Mali. A testament to her character and never-give-up mindset, Mali shared that she has an Olympic Dream folder on Instagram that consists of videos and other inspirational material. On the 28th of February 2024, she had written down a list of goals/prayers on her phone and right on top of that list read “I will go to the Olympics”. Mali continuously voiced: “You must dream and manifest your dreams” and her self-motivation played a pivotal role in helping her achieve her wildest dream.
Her advice to young upcomers who are following their sporting passions is the same advice she gave in a 2018 interview with Vaylen Kirtley on SABC: “Deep within you lies a seed of greatness waiting to be germinated so each player has that seed inside of them. It is up to that player or that person to nurture or grow that seed in order to have a beautiful flower later on in life. I believe that if you want something go out there and do it – the world is your oyster.”
Resilience and perseverance through support
Mali reflects on the importance of resilience and determination as a student-athlete. She also appreciates the support system around her and draws strength from her family and faith. She expressed deep gratitude to her family, particularly her mom whom she says she gets her strength from, dad and sister, she did not miss out on mentioning her uncles, aunties or cousins, for all of their unwavering support and acknowledged the role of having that supportive community in her journey to the pinnacle of sporting success.
We wish Ongeziwe Mali well as she competes in her first ever Olympic Games and hope that an Olympic medal is on the cards for her and the South African women’s hockey team!
For more live updates and details about the Olympic Games, follow this link: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024
By Kimara Singh