Mengo to retire from international hockey
By Michael Uugwanga
MAGRETH Mengo has once again said that she is retiring from international hockey after next year’s Indoor Hockey World Cup slated for 2 to 6 February 2022 in Liège, Belgium.
In 2018 she also announced her retirement from international hockey after the Indoor Hockey World Cup that was held in Germany, but only to end up as the current captain of the senior team that recently scooped the 2021 Africa Cup.
Mengo has 67 caps for Namibia and is the country’s most-capped female player currently.
“It is not that I have to think about it, I think priority is changing in my life right now and after the World Cup definitely retirement from playing international that is a done deal. It was supposed to happen early like you said but I think because we saw youngsters come through we just needed that seniority in the team just to help them get through.
“Hockey is a very emotional game and to be emotionally strong is about experience that you have in the team that matters a lot at the end of the day. But I know definitely that after the World Cup I will give my stick over to somebody,” she said in an interview with Confidente Sport.
She plays local indoor hockey for DTS Ladies who were crowned 2021 Bank Windhoek Premier League winners last month.
“I will keep on playing for the club for the love of the game. I might close in over 70 caps, as we will have lots of test series prior to the World Cup and of course at the World Cup we will play lots of games,” she added.
Mengo made her senior team debut in 1999 at the All Africa Games in Johannesburg, South Africa.
For their efforts, the national women indoor hockey team was recently awarded a bonus of N$180 000 to be shared among players and the technical team.
At next year’s World Cup, Namibia will be looking at finishing in the top six after finishing in ninth place at the previous showpiece.
“It is no more a secret that we really want to go and fight for a top six finish. Winning the cup in South Africa, it was a mixed feeling because of the type of competition and the level of hockey played was amazing and as such a bad thing that Africa only has one spot. We really want to go there and make history in order to allow the continent to have two spots,” said Mengo.