Lungile Tsolekile represented South Africa in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and his story is one that symbolises modern South Africa. As a boy he grew up in the huge, sprawling Langa township on the outskirts of Cape Town. Home to more than 52,500 people, the area is a mix of makeshift shacks, wooden buildings and small brick homes. The township was created in the 1920s to home a large number of the black population who were currently living in the overcrowded slum area of Ndabeni.
The Langa Township was more progressive than many of its predecessors. Several primary schools were built and organised sport quickly became a big part of the social fabric. As a 10-year-old, Lungile was already playing cricket for the Western Province under-11 side.
It was an invitation from a friend that persuaded the young South African to turn to hockey: "I was busy with winter cricket practice in 1997 when a friend asked me to go to hockey training with him. And that is where it all began. Cricket and hockey are very popular in the Langa Township and I lived just 50 meters from the stadium."
Lungile's interest in hockey continued to high school, where he quickly discovered that playing against better opposition was the key to developing his game. He says: "I went to a Model C School, Milnerton High. It was not renowned for its sport, and this is the reason my hockey got better as every game was a hard fought game against the better schools. We learnt to celebrate the draws, because we rarely won."
Soon Lungile was playing school hockey in the mornings and representing the Langa Club in the afternoons. He says that much of his success is down to two teachers at the school, Dave Wiggett and Derek Faulds, who were passionate about the sport.
Despite the great enthusiasm for sport in the Langa Township, only a few sports people from the township go on to become household names. For many years this was due to the apartheid regime operating in South Africa, but in 1991 apartheid collapsed and the South African sporting landscape seemed set to change forever with blacks and whites able to take to the pitch together.
As Lungile explains, the reality was very different. "It was a much slower process than that. Things have progressed but not as quickly as I would have expected. For example, in 1999 Thami Tsolekile mades his debut for the South African hockey team, in 2004 I made my debut, in 2008 Ben Mbana, and in 2011 Lonwabo Mvimbi made his. These people are the only African Black South Africans that have represented South Africa at the highest level of hockey."
A lot of this is due to money and support. Although people living in Langa have access to education, there is still a lot of deprivation and all members of the family are expected to pitch in and work for a living. Lungile was lucky. His family managed to support him, although it was a struggle. Likewise he also received support from a benefactor, Paul Revington, who helped with funding in the early stages of his career.
"Becoming an elite hockey player was easier for me than many others as I've always been surrounded by friends that play sport all year round. Although there have been obstacles, I can safely say I have a great bunch of family and friends around me.
"Even now, I can be sitting in a local bar and people will come up and say how proud they are of me. People realise how difficult it can be, especially with the challenges we face living in the townships." One of the difficulties Lungile has had to face while playing for the national side is a language barrier. "I do get tired on tours as I am the only Xhosa speaking player in the team, and English is my second language. That does sometimes make me homesick."
Lungile says Langa has always been a hotbed of hockey talent, but in the past it has been too expensive for most school children to continue playing as young adults. Now there is a newly-built astroturf in the heart of the township. This means the players can get there easily, there are no transport costs and they have a ground for their home matches and training sessions.
Despite his own international success, Lungile has never left the Langa township. He remains a player for the Langa Club and is also its secretary. His vision for hockey in the township is for talented young players to turn professional, so they can afford to play the sport they love.
