Vandana Katariyaofficially became the first female Indian hockey player to score a hat-trick inthe Olympic Games as India beat South Africa 4-3 in a Women’s pool A hockeymatch at the Tokyo Olympics.
Vandana Kataria, aresident of Roshanabad, a small village in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, createdhistory by scoring 3 goals in the match. She became the first femalehockey player from India to score a hat-trick of goals in an Olympicmatch. Thanks to her goal, India's hopes of reaching the quarter-finalsremain intact. 29-year-old Vandana first wanted to become a Kho-Khoplayer, but due to good running speed, she started playing hockey.
Vandana Katariyaplayed a crucial role since the start of the match. She scored the first twogoals in the first quarter itself. However, South Africa gave a good fight tothe Indians as they equalised 3-3.
But, with few minutesleft into the match, Vandana Katariya scored her third goal and a mostimportant one for India, keeping them in contention.
The centre ofattraction of India vs South Africa was undoubtedly Vandana Katariya. She hasbeen an asset for Indian team for quite a long time. She had won the player ofthe tournament award in Asian Champion Trophy, 2018 wherein India won silvermedal. She was also the part of 2016 Rio Olympics.
Vandana shared in aninterview, "My family members did not want me to become a player as a girland go out, but my father used to support me. He helped me completely, sopeople started taunting him too."
Vandana gives fullcredit for her selection in the national team to her Lucknow coaches VishnuPrakash Sharma and Poonam Lata. Her favorite player is Luciana Aymar ofArgentina. She was also nominated for the Arjuna Award in 2021.