New Delhi
Vandana Kataria has said goodbye to international hockey. 32 -year -old striker Vandana, who played 320 matches for India, has played the most matches in the history of Indian women’s hockey. She said that she is taking off the peak of her 15 -year golden career.
Kataria Tokyo, who made his debut in the senior team in 2009, was part of the Indian team, who finished fourth in the Olympics 2020, in which he also put a hat -trick. She is the first and only Indian woman player to do so. Kataria, a resident of Roshanabad, Haridwar, played the last match for India in the FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar in February.
Vandana said, ‘Today I am taking away from international hockey with a heavy, but grateful mind. This decision is both empowered and unhappy. I am not removing because the fire inside me has slowed down or there is no hockey left inside me, but because I want to retire on the peak of my career, while I am still at my best level.
He said, ‘This farewell is not due to fatigue. This is an option to leave the international platform on its own terms, my head will be high and my stick will still be spewing fire. The roar of the crowd, the thrill of every goal and the pride of wearing India’s jersey will always echo in my mind.
He wrote on Instagram, ‘My late father was my rock, my guide. Without them my dream is never fulfilled. His sacrifice and love laid the foundation of my game. He gave me a platform to dream, fight and win.
Recently, the stadium in Roshanabad, Haridwar was also named after Vandana Kataria, it was done before the National Games.
Vandana Kataria created history
Uttarakhand’s daughter Indian women hockey player Vandana Kataria has once again created history. Vandana, the first Indian female hockey player to make a hat -trick at the Olympic Games, has now become the first woman player in the country to play the 300th international hockey match. His elder brother Pakanj says that his younger sister, who once struggled for a pair of shoes, has achieved this position by working hard.
Vandana is originally a resident of Haridwar district of Uttarakhand. She has raised the pride of the state and the country by playing 300th international hockey matches in the ongoing female Asian Champions Trophy at Jaspal Singh Astroturf Stadium in Ranchi. According to Vandana’s elder brother Pankaj, he struggled a lot to reach this point.
It was once a family situation that it was also a big dream to get a hockey stick and good shoes. Pankaj said that he himself used to play hockey and other games, when Vandana was 12 years old, both of them and his second sister Reena were fond of participation in various sports, but both sisters did not have shoes to play. Whereas
Father encouraged to stay in the playground
Roshanabad was not allowed to enter the stadium without shoes. This was the reason that both sisters used to come early from school and go to the stadium to play in turn. His father Nahar Singh also encouraged him to stay in the playing field.
Name earned in the world due to hard work in hockey
Vandana Kataria, who earned a name in the world due to her hard work and struggle in hockey, received the Padyashri Award in 2022. She was a member of the Indian team that won the Women’s Asia Cup in 2017.
