Vandana Katariya has just announced her retirement from international hockey. One of the best ever to play for India, her 300 plus caps for the national team stand testimony to her talent and resilience. In fact, her getting injured will always remain the key reason for me as to why India failed to make it to Paris 2024. She missed the Olympic qualifiers in Jharkhand and it was one of the key reasons India fell short of making it to the Olympics.
While she will continue to be a part of the Hockey India league, we will always remember her fondly for her exploits at the Tokyo Olympic Games. And that too after she and her family was allegedly subjected to casteist slurs post India’s defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals. She became the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Olympics in India’s thrilling 4-3 win over South Africa in the group stage. India then pulled off what has been described as one of the biggest upsets of the Tokyo Olympics by beating Australia in the quarter-finals.
Vandana, for many, is a beacon of hope. Like she had said at the Trailblazers conclave in 2023, “What we can do is play hockey. Give our best for the country. If people don’t want to see that and talk about other things, it is sad. We play for India. Not for anyone else. And that’s my only identity. I am a hockey player and I play for India.”
Rani Rampal, her captain in Tokyo, had said at the time that she was overwhelmed by the support that Vandana and the team received throughout the Olympics. “It is very heartbreaking for the player, and the sort of thing that they struggle to recover from. Even if the player does recover, it is very difficult for the family to get back from something like that. My request is that, regardless of whether players are winning or losing, we need you at all times. We need your support even when we are not winning medals and titles. That is how India can become a sporting nation,” she had said.
In her retirement note, Vandana has thanked for father for getting here where she is today. May we say that even in retirement she will forever remain a true devotee of the sport she has enriched. Go well and like you have said Vandana look forward to watching you when you step out to the pitch during the Hockey India League.
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