Reincarnation of legends last

MANY of my fellow South Africans are of the opinion that we should move away from the racial stigmas of the past. And, in a developing country, there is a strong case for this. But as much as we would like to practise this, sometimes it is just not possible.

I realised this when I watched Wayde van Niekerk win the 400m at the Rio Olympics in 2016. After the race, I stood in that stadium and held my South African flag up high. Many foreign spectators turned to me and cheered. What they didn’t know was that I wasn’t only celebrating Van Niekerk but the plethora of world-class South African "coloured" sportsmen who came before him.

You will not find their names in any halls of fame, sports libraries or on those fancy Supersport newsreels. You will not find their names alongside Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards or Gary Player - but they were great, nonetheless.

Many say they were even better than the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Benni McCarthy and Vernon Philander. And there were several of them - Pat Blair, Duncan Crowie, Charles Carey, Keith America, Boebie Solomons, Zane Moosa, Hector Fynn, Georgie Francis, Gavin Snyman, Lionel Hamiel and Mark Buckley (from soccer); Basil d’ Oliviera, Tiffy Barnes, Coetie Neethling, Cecil Abaham, Dickie Conrad, Tiny and Lobo Abed, Saaiet Majiet and Michael Patrick (cricket); David Samaai, Cavan Bergman, Marcelino Winlock and Raymond Anthony (tennis); Anver Lyners (table-tennis); Andy Wrankmore and Denver Hendricks (squash); Ron Elland and Precious McKenzie (weightlifting) and Cecil Blous, Steve Rive, Cecil Wilton, Herman Gibbs, Reshaad Williams, Ian February, Dion Dirksen and Shaun Vester (athletics).

And I’m just naming a handful.

To me Van Niekerk is the offspring of this great line of sporting thoroughbreds. And when I saw Dylan Naidoo win the SA Open at Durban Country Club, similar feelings ran through my veins. I thought about other great sportsmen of colour.

Among them: Sugar Ray Xulu, Thiri Rampath, Steve Kalamazoo, Dharam Mohan, Jomo Sono, Maniraj Singh, Ace Nstolongoe, Chandran Pillay, Teenage Dladla, Sewnarain Lall, Super Naidoo and Daya Maistry (soccer); Morris Garda, Solly Chotia, Stanley Govender, Yacoob Omar, Gerald and Khaya Majola, Devdas Govindjee, Ben Malamba, Baboo Ebrahim, George Langa and Jugoo Govender (cricket); SS Maharaj, Jasmat and Hira Dhiraj, Hussein and Hassan Mahomedy, Naveen Singh and Richman Mahlangu (tennis); Matthews Temane, Kiruban Naidoo, Karamchand Hiraman, Matthews Motshwareteu and Jock Maduray (athletics); Pradeep “King” Singh (volleyball); Ashwin Valjee (table-tennis); Tap Tap Makhatini, Norman Sekgapane, Happyboy Mgxaji and Louis Joshua (boxing); Vincent Tshabalala, Daddy Naidoo, Ramnath Bambata, Richard Mogoerane, Ismail Chowglay, Simon Cox and of course, the great Papwa Sewgolum (golf).

Again, I'm only naming a few but there were many, many more.

When I think of all of them, it raises the question - had the playing fields been level, would there have been a different sports landscape in South Africa? Simply by judging the composition of current South African sports teams and the example of Naidoo’s victory, the answer can only be “yes”.

Sewgolum, of course, remains one of the greatest South African legends. He was not only famous because he won the Natal Open (on another rainy day at Durban Country Club), he became a legend because he won three Dutch Opens.

For the son of a blind woman, who was so poor that he couldn’t afford to go to school and was forced to support his family by caddying - during the height of apartheid - that was really something. So when we celebrate Naidoo, we should spare a thought for all those who went before him.

Because Naidoo, in many ways, might just be the reincarnation of legends past.

Note: Maybe this should be an open letter to Gayton McKenzie, the sports minister, to make him realise that sport goes a lot further than what we see today on local channels and it is time he started recognising these legends.

Robbie Naidoo is an author and a sportswriter for 30 years. He played representative tennis, squash and cricket and has reported both locally and internationally and covered four Olympic Games.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. 

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