SA Hockey men’s goalkeeper Gowan Jones thrilled with qualifying for the Olympics

South Africa beat Egypt to the AFCON title earlier this month in Pretoria.

After placing 10th in Tokyo 2020, the team will return to the global games next July, which Jones says is a huge milestone for the group.  

"Qualifying for the Olympics is really cool. It's a massive achievement for our squad at the moment, considering that we got new coaching staff in and a new squad that was selected in June after our interprovincial tournament. So, it was a massive win for us and a step in the right direction for us as a group that have been together for quite a while as a core group. There are a few new faces but the core group of guys have been together for quite a while," Jones said.

South Africa finished 11th at this year’s FIH Hockey World Cup.

However, Jones, argues, for a team with no funding, they did admirably. 

"At the World Cup in January, we had some really good performances. Narrowly losing out to France and to Argentina who are ranked a few places above us and have professional programmes and sponsorship. It was really good for us to go there and do that. We put in some positive performances. For a team who doesn't get paid and have to pay their own way to get to tournaments, it's really good for us to keep ticking these boxes," he added.

Furthermore, Jones’ passion for the sport has resulted in owning an academy where he coaches upcoming players. 

"I’ve also been very fortunate to be able to coach at an under-18 and under-21 level and indoor senior level. So, the goalkeeping academy is something that I'm very passionate about. I want to develop new goalkeepers and get people to love the position as much as I do."