Vandana Katariya Height, Age, Caste, Boyfriend, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Other name	Vandana Kataria
Profession	Field Hockey Player
Famous for	scoring five goals for team India at the 2013 Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup; India won a bronze medal in the championship
Physical Stats & More
[1]Glasgow 2014 Height	in centimeters- 159 cm in meters- 1.59 m in feet & inches- 5’ 2”
[2]Glasgow 2014 Weight	in kilograms- 51 kg in pounds- 112 lbs
Eye Colour	Brown
Hair Colour	Brown
Cricket
Junior International Debut	Year 2006
Junior International Debut	Year 2010
Playing Position	Forward
Current Club	Railways
Medal(s)	• Bronze at Junior World Cup in Mönchengladbach in 2013 (Team) • Bronze at Asian Games in Incheon in 2014 (Team) • Gold at Asia Cup in Gifu in 2014 (Team) • Silver at Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018 (Team) • Bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023
Personal Life
Date of Birth	15 April 1992 (Wednesday)
Age (as of 2021)	29 Years
Birthplace	Roshnabad, Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh (now, Uttarakhand, India)
Zodiac sign	Aries
Autograph
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Roshnabad, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India
Caste	Dalit [3]Hindustan Times
Tattoo	She has got a tattoo inked on her right hand.
Controversy	In August 2021, two upper-caste men named Vijaypal and Sumit Chauhan made abusive remarks at Vandana’s family at Katariya house in Roshnabad after women's Indian hockey team lost to Argentina in the semifinals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The men said that the women's hockey team lost the match as it had too many Dalit players. A complaint was filed by Vandana's brother after the incident and a case was registered against the two accused under relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code at a local police station. [4]Hindustan Times
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Family
Husband/Spouse	N/A
Parents	Father- Nahar Singh (worked as a master technician in BHEL, Haridwar; he once used to be a wrestler) Mother- Name Not Known
Siblings	Brother- Chandrashekhar Kataria
Favourites
Hockey Player(s)	Mohammed Shahid, Luciana Aymar
Dessert	Chocolate Ice-cream
Food	Burger, Home-cooked food

Some Lesser Known Facts About Vandana Katariya

• Vandana Katariya is an Indian field hockey player.

• She grew up in a middle-class family in Roshnabad, Haridwar.

• Katariya was good at sports since childhood and always wanted to make a career in it.

• While she was a kid, Vandana used to practise hockey moves using tree branches far away from her home in order to hide it from her elders who disapproved her of playing hockey.

• Her father, who was once a wrestler, always motivated Vandana to pursue the game (hockey).

• Vandana began her junior international hockey career in 2006 and she played her first international match for team India at senior level in 2010.

• Vandana was a part of the Indian women’s hockey team at the 2013 Junior World Cup in Mönchengladbach, Germany. She was India’s top scorer in the championship (scored 5 goals in 4 games) and team India won a bronze medal.
  

  Vandana Katariya with the Indian women hockey team

• In 2014, while she was playing against Canada during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Katariya won her 100th cap.

• In round 2 of the 2015 FIH Hockey World League, Vandana scored 11 goals and became the top scorer of the tournament. She also helped her team win the tournament.
  

  Vandana Katariya during a hockey match

• In 2016, Vandana became the skipper of the Indian women’s hockey team for the Test Series against Australia and led the Indian women’s hockey team in Melbourne.
  

  Vandana Katariya during a hockey tournament

• In 2016, Vandana qualified for the Rio Olympics and became a part of the Indian women’s hockey team.

• In 2018, she was made the player of the tournament at the Asian Champion Trophy (hockey) and India won a silver medal.
  

  Vandana Katariya in a hockey tournament

• In the same year, she qualified for the Hockey World Cup.

• In 2020, Vandana qualified for the Tokyo Olympics; becoming the first Indian woman to score an Olympic hat-trick in hockey. The Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  

  Vandana Katariya at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

• Vandana’s father passed away just three months prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She couldn’t visit her home on her father’s demise as she was on the training period for the Tokyo Olympics.

• In her leisure time, she loves to spend time with her family.

• During an interview, while sharing the favourite moment from her hockey career, Vandana said,
  

  It has to be when we won the bronze medal at the World Cup in Germany. My father was called by the media and he had tears in his eyes. So, making my father proud is the best moment of my hockey career.”

• In 2014, Katariya was conferred with Hockey India’s Player of the Year Award.

• During an interview, while praising Vandana, the Indian women’s hockey team’s stop-gap coach Roelant Oltmans said,
  

  In my book, Vandana is one of the top forwards in world hockey. She is quick, can score goals, can defend, and is improving all the time.”

• On 31 October 2023, Vandana achieved a milestone during the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. Her participation in the competition marked her 300th appearance in international matches for the Indian National Hockey Team, making her the first person to achieve this historic feat. ^[5]Hindustan Times
  

  Vandana Katariya while being honoured for presenting the Indian National Hockey Team at 300 international events