Living in Amsterdam was the ideal Commonwealth Games preparation for Scotland hockey team player Jamie Wong.
Everything for the former Gordonians player was geared towards representing Team Scotland. So much so, he shelved his study plans to make it happen.
Wong graduated with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Edinburgh last year and knew from several training trips to the Netherlands while playing in the Granite City that this was his chance to go abroad.
However, things at the start did not go smoothly. He hoped to study a masters but was told the main examination period would be in April – right in the middle of the Commonwealth Games. Skip the exams and he failed. It left him with an alternative: postpone his studies – a masters in sustainable energy development – for a year and focus fully on his Gold Coast aspirations.
He said: “I opted to take a year out working instead and, while it’s not quite as planned, everything has fallen into place. It’s been at the back of my mind for the last four years. I watched Glasgow 2014 before I got into the squad and knew the next Games were going to be the target.”
The last year for him and the national team has been a success. A 4-3 win over Russia in the semi-finals of the EuroHockey championship II means, for the first time in 14 years next year, Scotland will play in the top tier of European hockey. They went on to win the final 2-1 against Wales.
The Scots know they are up against it in Australia. They are in Pool A against the world-leading host nation, as well as New Zealand (ninth), Canada (11th) and South Africa (15th). Derek Forsyth’s men are 23rd.
Amid all his success, Wong remembers fondly the charismatic coach Jimmy Birkefeld, the Australian in charge at Robert Gordon’s College when he was a pupil there, and credits his university team boss Graham Moodie as key to his path to Australia. His parents, Simon and Delyth, will be Down Under to watch him live his dream and he is desperate to leave without any regrets.
Wong said: “I need to walk off knowing I gave it absolutely everything. We know we can get results against these teams, it is just a case of getting it over the line.”
