Tyla G makes light of a hard situation

Brighton Zhawi —
IT has been said that when life hands you lemons, it is best to make lemonade! This proverbial phase is one that best describes Zimbabwe Under-21 hockey star Tyla Groenwald as she reflects on the country’s recent trip to Chile for the Junior Women Cup.

To say the trip was a disaster would be one of the biggest understatements of the year. Placed in the tournament’s group of death alongside South Korea, France, USA and the Netherlands; very few expected the team to go past the preliminary stages, but none expected such a dismal performance.

Zimbabwe finished at the bottom of the 16-team tournament, conceding a total of 45 goals from just five matches. They only managed to score once in the entire tournament, and that goal came during a 3-1 defeat to France.

Zimbabwe were completely hammered, with their heaviest defeats coming from the Netherlands and New Zealand who trounced them 13-0 apiece.

However, Groenwald has chosen to look at the brighter side of their Chilean adventure and hopes the experience gained, however bad, will lead to bigger and better things for the team in the future. The 19-year-old has instead described her time in South America as a surreal experience.

“”First of all, being given the opportunity to take part in the World Cup was absolutely amazing,” said Groenwald.

“The time we spent there, as a team, will forever be in our hearts and memories and only us as players will truly understand what it was like to take part in such high standard hockey and be exposed to so much.

“Yes, I think we were all expecting some really tough competition, especially considering our pool contained teams all ranked in the top 10 of the world.

“So even though some of the results showed it to be really tough, it really did not show how well we played against some of these top sides,” she said.

Groenwald admitted nerves also got the better of the team.

“We all had different ways of feeling it, but nerves played a big part in our poor performances.

“Playing Namibia and South Africa (during the qualifiers) was very nerve-wracking, but it was nothing compared to playing at the World Cup.

“Luckily, some of us managed to settle in after the first game, and played more freely for the rest of the tournament.

“We managed to have fun and play our hockey, absorb everything and enjoy the experience”, she said.

As a memento, Groenwald has the distinction of being the team’s only goalscorer; that goal coming during the 3-1 defeat to France.

“Going into the game, we just said to ourselves ‘This is our last game, so we give it all we’ve got and leave our hearts out there on the field and just have fun’.

“I couldn’t believe it when the ball went in the goal.

“It was a truly great feeling, especially the fact that it was a team effort,” she said.

With World Cup done and dusted, Groenwald said she hopes to “catch up with some sleep and rest a bit”.

“I am currently at (Tuks) university in South Africa studying languages . . . but if the opportunity arises that I can go overseas for a hockey scholarship, I will be sure to take it.

“lf not, the World Cup was very much an eye-opener and has given me a few ideas about my future in hockey,” she said.