The award-winning University of Johannesburg hockey star will be competing in the 2017 Hockey African Cup for Nations.
Tyson Dlungwana attended high school at Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. He started playing hockey in Grade 6 at Merchiston Prep School, which is also in Pietermaritzburg.
During his eight years of playing hockey, Dlungwana has already represented the South African National Hockey team nine times, played at the 2016 Junior World cup in India and was selected to play at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China where his team finished fourth.
He shared his favourite hockey highlights.
“We played our arch rivals Pretoria Boys High School in 2015; we were 2–0 down at the end of the first half and we came back to win it 3–2 with me scoring the winning goal. That was really cool.”
The award-winning UJ star says his biggest achievement is his current call-up to the senior national team to compete in the Africa Cup, which will be held in Egypt from 22–29 October. He added that he appreciates the national team call-ups and awards.
“It’s awesome to be recognised; it gives one a satisfying feeling of knowing that hard work pays off and I’m happy and honoured.”
Twenty-year-old Dlungwana said he has two secrets to his success that he hopes can inspire others. Firstly, you need to love all parts of the game, not just winning but all the challenges as well, such as early gym sessions and late practice sessions.
The second secret is all about mentally preparing yourself. He said, “I believe the mind and how you think is the most important part of any athlete. Train your mind in the toughest of conditions and never be comfortable with being second.”
Dlungwana will be looking to solidify his spot in the senior team. He attempts to surpass the level he is at now by working even harder as he hopes to be included in the Commonwealth Games team for South Africa.
He added that his ultimate goal is to play in the Olympics and with the right training programme and mindset, he will be there waving the nation’s flag.
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