Latest revision as of 12:54, 4 May 2025

[edit] A brief biography

[edit] As in 2021 July

MS Nawaz & Ishita Mishra, August 1, 2021: The Times of India

When Vandana Katariya was a child, she was told her love for sports was unbecoming of a girl. So, she would sneak away, forage for tree branches and practise her moves, away from the prying eyes of disapproving elders in Uttarakhand’s Roshnabad village, report MS Nawaz & Ishita Mishra.

But Vandana found one defender when everyone else wanted her to drop her passion — her father. When Nahar Singh Kataria, who had been a wrestler, died three months ago, Vandana couldn’t make it home due to training. She became India’s first woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics.

‘Grandma would ask Vandana to learn to cook, not play hockey’

Vandana Katariya became India’s first woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics and part of the country’s first women’s hockey team to make it to the quarterfinals.

“We are nine siblings. Grandmother would ask her to pay attention to household chores and learn how to cook, not waste time playing,” her elder brother Shekhar, 36, told TOI. Those in her village didn’t like the idea of a girl joining boys in sports either. “But father supported her. He was the only one to do so.”

At the foothills of the Shivalik hills, Roshnabad was practically off the map when Vandana was growing up. In 2000, Roshnabad got its own stadium.

It was kho-kho that got Vandana into her first organised sports event. “Around 2001, local hockey coach Krishna Kumar recruited many girls to form a women’s hockey team. Vandana was one of them,”Haridwar district sports officer SK Dobhal told TOI.

Kumar’s son Ravi said, “We’d train together every evening. One day my father told her that if she wanted to make a name, she had to focus on hockey.”

Vandana was playing at a school tournament in Roshnabad when Meerutbased coach Pradeep Chinyoti spotted her. “I encouraged her to move to Meerut and train. In the three years she spent here (2003 to 2006), I saw she had great speed,” he told TOI. “Her hard work got her into the national juniors’ team. She worked her way up and made it to the national women’s team. Since then, she has played more than 200 international matches. When news of her feat broke on Saturday, her village burst into celebrations. Crackers went off, songs were sung and the village that once wanted her to stop playing was proud of her. “Father always said she would make Roshnabad famous,” Shekhar said.

[edit] A summing up

Manuja Veerappa, April 2, 2025: The Times of India

KNOW VANDANA

Age: 32 | Position: Striker


Matches: 320 | Goals: 158

THE FIRST… 


Indian woman to earn 300 caps


Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 
Bronze: 2014 Asian Games


Silver: 2018 Asian Games


Bronze: 2023 Asian Games


Gold: 2016 Asian Champions Trophy


Silver: 2018 Asian Champions Trophy


Bronze: 2022 Commonwealth Games

ACCOLADES 
2021: Arjuna


2022: Padma Shri

[edit] Highlights

Manuja Veerappa, April 2, 2025: The Times of India

Bengaluru: Olympian Vandana Katariy a called time on her much-storied hockey career, which began from humble roots in Roshnabad in Salempur, Haridwar, when she was just 17.


Battling patriarchal and societal norms and armed with dreams and talent, she negotiated an ar duous path to make it to the Indian hockey team. Deft stickwork, tactical brilliance and determination ensured she defied the odds. Vandana’s 15-year-old career is not just testimony to her resilience, but an inspiration for a generation of players.


With a new Olympic cycle underway and a clutch of youngsters making their case, the 32-year-old decided to call it a day Tuesday, bringing the curtains down on a career which included two Olympic appearances.


Vandana said in a statement, the decision was made with “a heavy yet grateful heart” and one that “feels both bittersweet and empowering”.

“I’m stepping away not because the fire in me has dimmed or the hockey in my tank has run dry, but because I want to bow out at the zenith of my career, while I’m still at my very best,” she said, “This isn’t a goodbye born out of exhaustion; it’s a choice to leave the stage on my terms, with my head held high and my stick still blazing. The roar of the crowd, the thrill of every goal, and the pride of wearing India’s colours will forever echo in my soul.” 


She is the first Indian woman hockey player to earn more than 300 caps and scored 158 international goals with the highlight being her hat-trick against South Africa at the Tokyo Games in 2021.


Vandana began her international journey in 2009 at the age 17. But her talent and skill came to the fore during the 2013 junior women’s World Cup where she helped India clinch a bronze with her five-goal effort. 
Since then, she has been the lynchpin of India’s attack. Along with Rani Rampal, Sushila Chanu, Savita Punia, Grace Ekka and Salima Tete, Vandana steered the women’s game, making the cut for the Rio Olympics and then the landmark fourth-place finish in Tokyo.


The inspiration behind Vandana’s journey was her father Nahar Singh, who passed away three months before Tokyo. With the team in a Covid-induced bio-bubble at that time, she couldn’t attend his funeral.
Paying an emotional tribute to her father, Vandana, whose family endured casteist remarks after India lost to Argentina in the Tokyo semifinals, said in her message, “My late father – my rock, my guiding light – without you this dream would have remained out of reach; your sacrifices and love have been my foundation. You’ve given me a platform to dream, to fight, and to win.”


Vandana has only called time on her international career. “This isn’t the end of my story; it’s a new beginning. I’m not hanging up my stick. I’ll keep playing, keep scoring, and keep inspiring in the Hockey India League and beyond. The turf will still feel my footsteps, and my passion for this game will never fade,” she said.