Malikah Hamza is an upcoming national hockey player who was the youngest player to turn professional at 9-years-old; she was recently selected as one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans for 2019.
The 15-year-old who attends Beaulieu College in Johannesburg has been playing developmental sport since the tender age of 2-years-old. She not only has a natural ability with the hockey stick but knows her way around a cricket bat and ball too.
Some brief highlights of the competitions she has had the privilege of playing in her blossoming career so far include playing in the u13/u14 Provincial Hockey tournaments for 3 years in Western Province (WP) respectively. This year she played in the u21 Provincial Hockey tournament and won gold with her team. She has also captained WP u16 cricket team for 2 years at the ages of 12 to 13, having later made WP u19 national cricket side in 2018.
Parental Guidance Paves the Way
The sport loving girl sites her dad as the person who helped her kick-start her sports career and her inspiration to reach her goals, “My dad (Boebie Hamza) introduced me to all sports codes. I started playing competitive sport when I was 9 and was coached by my dad previously,” the rising star said.
This big dreamer notes the following as her goals: “I would like to make the SA u21 side going to the 2021 World Cup and make the 2022 Junior Olympics team. However, my immediate goal is to be fit and make the SA u16 hockey side later this month,” she added.
Malikah and her family made the big move from Cape Town to Johannesburg to fast track her hockey career.
“Malikah would have to be 19 to qualify for u21 inter provincial tournament in the Western Cape, in 2018 she played for the u14 side but this year she played for the u21 Southern Gauteng team thus fast tracking her career by 4 years. She was offered an incredible scholarship opportunity at Beaulieu College which we accepted,” explained Mailkah’s dad Boebie Hamza.
One of her fondest memories of playing hockey came when she won gold at the u21 provincial tournament. It made her one the youngest to win gold at that level in the country. She draws encouragement from her favourite South Africa women athletes, Laura Wolwaart (cricketer) and Coach Tsoanelo Pholo (hockey).
“I had the privilege of playing with Laura on a few occasions.” – Malikah Hamza
“She is a great batter and an incredible human being. From a hockey perspective, I have a number of ladies that I admire but I have huge admiration for Coach Tsoanelo Pholo. Her passion for the game totally inspires me,” noted the fifteen-year-old.
The down to earth hockey player clarifies that she is not big on celebrating when she scores goals but enjoys winning especially if she has contributed to a team win. Her emotions before playing for her team are nervousness however Malikah always prays upon entering the field.
The multitalented athlete is not yet old enough to make the national side but hopes by the end of the month she will be selected into the u16 South African hockey setup. She already felt extreme emotions while singing the national anthem before the u21 final this year and with her pure grit and determination will sing the anthem in green and gold very soon.
Malikah boasts some great achievements in her CV and is fully deserving of her selection as one of Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans for 2019.
“I always believe that I have yet to achieve my greatest feat.” – Malikah Hamza
“Thus far I’ve had a few ‘record breaking feats’, like playing against the Zimbabwe senior cricket side at aged 10; captaining WP u16 when I was 12; winning Top Goal Scorer in senior club hockey season at age 11 and lastly winning gold in the u21 national hockey tournament aged 15,” she happily concluded.
Malikah has definitely grown from strength to strength and has continued to amaze all with her ability not only as a hockey player but also as a cricketer. Having to constantly compete against the boys she knows plenty about how to perform against the toughest competition which has motivated her to be unrelenting in the pursuit of her goals.
Malikah absolutely loves sport and is keen to learn from all the experiences provided to her. She prides herself on doing well, both on and off the sports field.She established her own social responsibility programme, called Goals 4 Loaves whereby she donates bread to the under privileged with every goal she scores. Last year she donated 450 loaves and is looking to double that this year.
With her immense leadership qualities and a bright future ahead, Malikah Hamza is one to keep an eye out for and remains a role model for the younger generation of girls dreaming of pursuing a career in sports.
With editing by gsport
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