THEY say we can be the hero of our own story.
For that same manner, an incident where Masivesi Dakuwaqa was playing with a rubber band and stick during his primary school days was not going to be the end of his search for a successful journey.
“It was during one of those playing days in primary school when it accidentally hit me in the eye,” said Dakuwaqa, who made his debut for Fiji at the 2016 USA Sevens last March.
He does not consider himself as a physically challenged person.
You might have wondered how he could cope with the pace of the game.
The challenge of being with one eye raises question on how gold medallist Dakuwaqa, after his successful shot at becoming an Olympian, ended with a great flourish among the best in Fiji 7s rugby.
His selection as the 13th player for Fiji to Rio entirely overshadowed the recall of some of the best in the ranks.
In an interview with this newspaper, he said: “It made me feel proud to be selected from the best in the business and made the team in front of a lot of experienced players, some great forwards.”
Dakuwaqa’s profile was sensational — a club player playing in domestic competition and a security guard at the Nadi International Airport, had never been on an aeroplane, have not travelled abroad, and did not even have a passport before he became a Fiji 7s rep.
But the 22-year-old forward, after all the sheer hard work and sacrifices, enjoyed Fiji’s glory with the gold medal win and not forgetting being part of the Fiji 7s team that defended the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title.
It was someone’s dream, considering he is almost entirely blind in his left eye.
The Tokatoka Westfield Dragons 7s player said his left eye could only see a little bit, but that did not affect or give him some short of idea to back down from the sport.
After having been a hero of his own story, the Lau man’s rugby career was basically on that same fast track after the win in Rio.
With six members of the Fiji squad in Dubai and Cape Town were in Rio, Dakuwaqa was part of the team to the first leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Fiji’s new 7s coach Gareth Baber expected to arrive from Hong Kong today to start his job as the Fijian 7s coach, one player he would not like to miss is this one-eyed rugby 7s assassin.
