South Africa will be a hive of activity this year with tons of sporting action that includes the first ever U19 Women’s Cricket World Cup, the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup, Netball World Cup and the 2023 Table Tennis World Championship finals, most coming to the tip of Southern A.
Now there are various ways in which athletes get into sport, be it seeing an older sibling on the sports pitch, pressure from a parent to just bumping into friends playing and you get immersed in the activity. We spoke to some of our leading athletes who will be representing Team South Africa in the various tournaments how they got into sport and why they love it.
Free State Women’s Maine Smit – I love cricket because it isn’t just a physical sport but also it’s challenging emotionally and mentally. There’s a lot of tactical work going into the sport and that’s the reason I love it.
The historic first of the U19 Women’s T20 World Cup that’ll take place in Benoni and Potchefstroom in South Africa from the 14th to the 29th of January has 41 matches on schedule to be played across 15 days.
The 16-team tournament constitutes 11 full ICC members and 5 associate teams have been split into four groups and squads of each have been detailed below. Teams eying qualification to the business end, the Super Six league stage will be required to finish in the top three in their respective groups.
We also look forward to the Women’s FIH Hockey World Cup, the tournament will be played at the Heartfelt Arena from February 5 to 11. With more than 50 caps to her name Celia Seerane was inspired by her families soccer loving roots. “I come from a soccer family so grew up playing. At that stage there wasn’t a team for girls soccer so my parents said I should find another sport that I enjoy playing and can play with girls. I went to school and saw some kids playing hockey and asked the coach if I could join. That night I went home and told my parents I would like to start playing hockey. And that’s where it all started.”
Her teammate and 2020 interprovincial player of the tournament Jess Lardant channelled her super competitive into sport but also appreciates the friendships created playing in a team sport like hockey: “Since I was a small child I was SUPER competitive and I think the best way for me to show this was through playing sport. I loved the hard work and dedication that was needed to achieve goals and essentially trying to be the best I could be; the feeling was addictive and sparked my passion for choosing sport, mainly hockey, as my ‘career’ and I haven’t looked back since.
Being involved in a team sport also really helped with this decision as the friends that I have made are life long and wanting to work as has as I can for the person next to me to make them look good is the most rewarding feeling.”
The SPAR SA side will open their campaign with two tough European opponents in Austria and the favorites Netherlands. They will then take on the US before completing the pool stages against the Oceania duo of New Zealand and Australia in Pretoria in February.
The Table Tennis world will descend on Durban from 20 to 28 May 2023, in the Durban International Convention Centre and one of our star ambassadors, 6 time National Champion Danisha Patel is a true example of how women in sport often have to participate and produce winning performances in sport but also be in a career that sometimes and most of the time to ensure they are able to pay the bills at the end of the month.
This is how she became a Biokineticist, “ So back in school. I actually wanted to study physiotherapy (but thinking about it now, I don’t know why???) I studied Biokinetics at UJ in 2012. I finished my honours in 2015 and internship in 2016.”
“In my junior days my first international trip was in Sweden in 2006. My dad had a colleague who was a Biokineticist at Wits. I went to him because I used to get side pains (also called stiches) and he gave some exercises to do which helped. So it was a pretty cool set up. And that’s why I went that route because it helped me with my table tennis. As an athlete I know what it feels like to be hinder by an injury. So to help get people back into shape and peak performance was my way to go.”
In July the Netball fraternity graces the African shores for the 2023 Netball World Cup and the hosts will be hoping to secure a podium finish or better yet, win the tournament. Refiloe “Fifi” Nketsa grew up in a family of athletes. “My mom was a netball and tennis player and my father was a soccer player, I guess my sporty genes came from them. I loved netball from a very young age. I started playing it in primary school into high school. I got a bursary at UFS through my netball play and had various achievements while at it.”
One of the players we are definitely keen to see don the green and gold adds, “I played for the UFS Kovsies netball team at the USSA tournament, got selected to play for the SA u21 team in 2021 (which led to my selection into the Spar Proteas squad). I then played my very first Varsity Cup in 2022. It’s always been my first love and it by grace, loved me back and chose me hence the growth I’ve had till now.”
We can’t wait to see our national teams and these stars in action this year.
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