Imagine securing a place at the Olympic Games only to have it snatched away from you by the organisation that are ultimately supposed to aid and help the development of sport in your country.
After all, for most people, it simply doesn’t get much better than representing your nation on the Olympic stage.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder heads are being scratched amid strong voices of dissent in South Africa after the country's National Olympic Committee refused to send their men’s and women’s hockey teams, as well as the women’s rugby sevens side, to Rio 2016 due to the fact that they each failed to qualify through the highest-level route available to them.
All three booked their ticket to Rio de Janeiro, which will be the first South American city in history to stage the Games, by winning their respective African Championships. Usually, that is enough.
But not for South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), who are maintaining their harsh stance on a matter which has caused widespread debate in Africa and beyond.
The line being touted by SASCOC chief executive Tubby Reddy, who holds the same position within the Durban 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, is one of arrogance. He feels the organisation's position is "in line with their policy of producing world-class athletes who will compete at the highest level".
Am I missing something here? For many, there is no higher echelon of sport than the Olympic Games, and by depriving their hockey and women’s sevens teams of a spot at next year’s Games in Rio, they are surely causing much more harm than good.
Of course, Reddy and the SASCOC in general wanted to see their athletes qualify in style, rather than meandering through continental events at which they were always expected to win, but by being so stubborn and obdurate, they are limiting the future development of their athletes and grinding Olympic dreams abruptly to a halt.
Often athletes at the Games perform way beyond expectations as they feast on the energy, fervour and atmosphere around the event itself – a feeling that many South Africa competitors will not get to experience during the summer of 2016.
And what a shame that is. The qualification process is complex and difficult enough for the athletes and to then strip them of their places, which seems overly strict and ultimately detrimental, will do their future career prospects no favours whatsoever.
