The national men's team defeated hot favourites Australia Country 3-1 yesterday and effectively lifted our campaign at the National Hockey Centre.
The victory in a round of the Oceania Pacific Cup and FIH World League fixture has placed us on a very high pedestal.
Jubilant national coach Hector Smith revealed losing was not an option when Fiji took on the might of Australia.
They went in determined to win and win they did.
He had wrapped things up in terms of coaching. The rest was up to the players and as he pointed out, it was a test of their mental toughness.
It was about believing in themselves and acknowledging that losing wasn't an option.
Perhaps the demand or directive spoke of a very high expectation. In hindsight though, it effectively set the platform for the national side to come off with a credible effort against a team that came in as favourites.
While there were many heroes for Fiji, the highest accolades will have to be equally shared by the team.
They did us proud and should head into the next game against Samoa and Vanuatu with 100 per cent support from Fiji fans.
Smith was obviously happy with the strong show of character yesterday.
Things, however, do not end there and he expects the team to improve from yesterday's effort.
Critically though, three send-offs were not something he wants repeated.
The victory will no doubt be savoured by hockey enthusiasts around the country.
Fiji has a strong history in the sport with big names like the Coffin brothers, their sister Linda, Fergus Underwood, Yee Kit Sue, Richard Chang, Vilitati Lee, Micky King and David Bennion holding the fort for Lautoka at different stages of its history for instance. Then there were big names from Levuka and Suva who lifted the profile of the game.
The Westmere, Noel and Bhasin Cup tournaments ensured there was interest at secondary school level.
Yesterday's victory was commendable.
The hard work, however, does not end there and today starts the toughest part. Today is about how much we want to win. Today is about motivating our team to believe in themselves and to be consistent.
Today is about taking that step a little further and making sure yesterday's victory wasn't a one-off result.
Hockey may be a minor sport when compared to rugby and soccer for instance. A victory by the national team though will be lapped up with enthusiasm. It is good for the sport here, for its followers and for the people of this country.
Go Fiji, go.