South Africa men’s hockey assistant coach Cheslyn Gie says they are chasing a top eight spot when the Commonwealth Games begin in Australia on Thursday.
The Madibaz Sport hockey manager and coach said they realised it would be a tough task but they were determined to show what they could do.
The Games on the Gold Coast will see South Africa compete against Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Canada during the round-robin phase of the competition.
Madibaz Sport hockey manager Cheslyn Gie is the assistant coach of the South African team to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Australia, starting on Thursday. Photo: Supplied
With the squad having had extensive preparations, Gie said they were prepared to give a good account of themselves.
“The bottom line is that we want to finish in the top eight, but we know it is going to be hard.
“When you have teams such as India and Australia in the competition, you realise what you are up against, but we are excited about this opportunity.”
Gie said there were a few senior members in the squad, but it was largely made up of young, talented players who would be keen to prove a point.
As has been the case for much of the past year, Gie has been serving as assistant coach and in Australia he will be working with newly appointed head coach Mark Hopkins.
Having made his national coaching debut in the international Summer Series in South Africa last year, Gie was also involved in the World League semifinals in Johannesburg and the African Cup of Nations in Egypt during 2017.