Vandana, Our 1st Female Hockey Olympic Hat-Trick Scorer, Played With Tree Branches

When Vandana Katariya was little, she was told her love for sports was unbecoming of a girl. So she snuck away, look for tree branches and perfect her game with those, away from the prying eyes of disapproving elders in Uttarakhand¡¯s Roshnabad village, as per a TOI report.

PTI

But Vandana had one person who stood by her and that was her father. When Nahar Singh Kataria, who was a wrestler, died 3 months ago, Vandana was not able to be present because of training. She became our first woman to score a hat-trick in hockey at the Olympics.

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,¡± Shekhar said. In 2000, Roshnabad got its own stadium. ¡°it changed the life of local girls, including Vandana,¡± said Manish Pal, a local sports enthusiast. Vandana was playing at a school tournament when coach Pradeep Chinyoti spotted her.

PTI

When news of Vandana¡¯s 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.