Pleased as punch: Dina, proper, mom of Netherlands cricketer Sybrand Engelbrecht, with her daughter and grandsons at Lucknow.
| Photo Credit: P.Ok. AJITH KUMAR
Dina Taljaard was denied a possibility to compete on the Olympics in 1968 after which the World gymnastics championship, for no fault of hers. Her nation, South Africa, was banned from sport due to the apartheid coverage.
So when her son received an opportunity to play on the cricket World Cup, she flew down from Johannesburg to India, taking together with her daughter and grandchildren. She is glad she did: she may watch her son, Sybrand Engelbrecht, scoring an excellent 70 decrease down the order in opposition to Sri Lanka right here on Saturday.
She was additionally there at Dharamshala when the Netherlands scored a historic win, in opposition to South Africa. “I decided to come to India when Sybrand was selected in the Netherlands team,” Dina, dressed expectedly in orange, instructed The Hindu on the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium. “It has been a great experience and exciting to watch him play at the World Cup.”
Engelbrecht had performed for South Africa within the Under-19 World Cup in 2008 in Malaysia, the place he took a few unimaginable catches, one in all which was off the bat from a sure Virat Kohli, however retired from cricket eight years later. Then he moved right into a profession in finance and did an MBA. His job took him to Holland and he returned to cricket.
Elated
Dina is delighted that he’s doing what she couldn’t in worldwide sport. “It was heart-breaking to miss out on the Olympics and the World championship,” she mentioned. “We had already been in the UK and France and competing and then we were stopped. But when you are young, you really don’t know the full implications. Like me, many South African athletes, from various sports, were denied opportunities to take part in the Olympics and other prestigious international events.”
Among them have been some cricketing greats, like Barry Richards, Graeme Pollock and Mike Procter. “A whole generation suffered,” mentioned Dina. “But you cannot change that. I am really happy that Sybrand has got to play in a World Cup, and my grandsons, both keenly into cricket, have loved watching their uncles perform.”
