By : Shashank Suresh
With less than five days till the commencement of the Tokyo Olympics, millions of people are getting ready to cheer on their favourite athletes. Vandana Katariya is one such stalwart.
Vandana Katariya is an Indian field hockey player who was born on April 15, 1992. Vandana plays as a forward in the Indian National Field Hockey team. She scored five goals at the Women’s World Hocket Junior World Cup in 2013, thereby becoming a global star player. Her performance helped India secure a bronze medal in the tournament.
Career
Katariya was born in Roshnabad, Uttar Pradesh, on April 15, 1992. Her father, Nahar Singh, works as a technician at BHEL, Haridwar. Her career started by training at the hocket field of Meerut’s NAS College. She was coached by Pradeep Chinyoti. Pradeep spotted Vandana’s talent in Roshnabad and encouraged her to move to Meerut for coaching. From 2004-06, she stayed at Meerut to train.
Meerut also holds a special relevance for Vandana as this is where she got her first invite to play for the Indian National Juniors Team. On 11 May, 2007, when Vandana was staying at Mohanpuri, she received the invite which fuelled her determination in becoming a star hockey player further.
In 2010 she was promoted to the senior team. She was a member of the 2013 Junior World Cup bronze-winning squad in Mönchengladbach, Germany. She was India’s leading goal scorer in the tournament, with five goals in four games. She has a career record of 58 goals in 218 games.
In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, she earned her 100th cap while playing against Canada. In 2014, Katariya received the Hockey India’s Player of the Year Award. Katariya was retained as the Indian women’s hockey team’s captain for the Test Series against Australia in November 2016 and led the team in Melbourne from November 23 to November 30. Her stunning performance led to her being felicitated by the Rani Lakshmi Bai Award by the state administration.
Indian Hockey Team for Olympics
Unlike the men’s squad, the Indian women’s hockey team has almost no Olympic experience. Because this will be the team’s third trip to the Olympic Games, the emphasis will be on making history.
After qualifying for the back-to-back Olympic Games for the first time, the Rani Rampal-led team has already made history, but the aim is to achieve even more. The squad had a forgettable performance in Rio when they qualified for the Games after a 36-year hiatus.
India lost four of the five games, allowing 19 goals and scoring only three goals in response. The only tie occurred against Japan, as Rani Rampal’s team had to come from behind twice.
India, on the other hand, is seeking to duplicate that achievement in Tokyo at least. The aim is to do a lot more than makeup statistics. India’s performance at the World Cup (reaching the quarter-finals), Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games will inspire them to put up a good display in Tokyo, where the squad will face mental and physical challenges.
Indian Playstyle
For a long time, India has had a reputation for being cautious, even timid, when facing higher-ranked opponents, yet capable of dominating games against teams lower in the pecking order. Only South Africa (16) is rated lower than them among the six teams in Group A this time, with India at World No.10. India’s defensive discipline has improved in key games over the previous several years.
Trump Cards
Individually, India has some of the finest capabilities globally, and in recent years, they have been able to add some solid defensive structure to that. They don’t score many goals, which makes them dangerous on the counter, where they may rely on Siami and Sharmila’s speed, as well as Rani and Vandana Katariya’s talents.
Opponents
India has two of the best medal contenders in Germany (3) and the Netherlands (1). The Dutch are the most dominating power in women’s hockey, having won the previous two World Cups, the World League and the Pro League, and two gold medals at the Olympics until finishing second last time.
