No regrets are what Edith Molikoe hopes for when the referee's whistle is blown for the last time during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games women's hockey tournament. 

South Africa starts their Olympic campaign on Sunday, playing Australia at 12:45. The men's team is playing against the Netherlands on Saturday (12:45). 

Molikoe is no stranger to playing hockey at the Olympics. She debuted in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics. Her fondest memory at the time was being able to play against people she had always looked up to, being around top athletes and learning from them and how to be an elite athlete.

"To me, it was like, oh my word. I am in the same place as athletes I have only seen on television."

But this time around, things are different. Molikoe has 34 caps playing for the Proteas. At the start of the month, she co-captained Tuks to victory during the USSA Tournament played in Johannesburg. It proves she has matured as a player. 

The UP-Tuks student-athlete is realistic about what awaits the team on Paris's AstroTurf. South Africa (18th on the world rankings) is considered the least favourite in their group. Their most brutal game will be against the second-ranked Argentina. Australia is ranked 5th.

"Experience has taught me not to take anything for granted in sport. Sometimes things will be for your team, and sometimes they won't. I think if we can stay in the moment in Paris and be present for every game, we might surprise ourselves. From a personal perspective, I want to learn from the best how to play better. More importantly, I would not want to return home with regrets and feeling like I could have done more."

Molikoe who plays as a midfielder considers her best attributes as a player her distribution skills. Adding.

"And I'm a I'm a very technical player. It means I can throw overheads. I can snap. I can hit. So that's what I bring to the team, but also my speed, my communication, and as well as the ability to read the game."

The TuksHockey player is an unashamed daddy's girl. Her father, John, has inspired her to never accept anything below average.

To this day, Molikoe, the TuksHockey women’s captain, remembers her father's words: "Keep going. There's no looking back. Once you've started something, the only way is to move forward."

She has taken these words to heart.

"My dad is also the one who told me to respect my opponents—actually, everyone I meet. And nothing beats hard work and dedication."