The new Gen Strikers has the urge to learn, says Vandana Katariya

April 01, 2025 09:44 IST VANDANA KATARIYA, India’s veteran hockey player, retires to support the team of the team before the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, which is thinking about her traveling. New -delhi: Vandana Katariya, the most experienced Indian female hockey player, decided on Tuesday to name it and make room for young people, as Hockey India (Hi) prepared to build the team for the World Cup and Asian Games – both in 2026 – and finally the Olympics in Los Angeles. India -Hockey forward from Dana Katariya. (Hockey India) With 320 international caps and 158 goals in a 13-year period, the 32-year-old’s story is a journey of pure gravel and resilience that led the 32-year-old to a 36-year gap to the consecutive Olympics. The Haridwar resident spoke of Mumbai and discussed what led to her decision, her journey with the Indian team and the newer crop of forwards. Excerpts: How did you get to the decision? It was difficult. The thought just came to me, and I suddenly made the decision. I think about my future, about the future of the team, the coach’s plan for the future. The youngsters are doing well. I didn’t feel good about my place in the team. So I decided to retire. What do you mean by not feeling good? I thought of things that were not under my control. I also wanted to go along with what the coach planned for the team and the players who were set for the future. I didn’t have that much time for it. So I made my own decision. And what are Coach Harendra Singh and Hi’s plans? They want to set up the team for the future. The youngsters are doing well. The target is the Olympics. I am always ready to act for my country. This is my own decision. I didn’t even know how the idea was crawling in my head. From now on, the emotions have not sunk in. When did you notify the staff and team? I informed coaching day before. For any player, it is a big decision when such a long journey ends. We live together as a family and suddenly everything ends. The girls were shocked. The team was always with me because of our common dedication and passion for the team and women’s hockey. They were always behind me and would always push me to do well. How do you see the development of women’s hockey in India from when you started in 2012 until now? At the time, I did not know that India would reach the heights. When we started, we still learned. Our new coach Neil Hawgood had just come out of Australia at the time. The system has changed slowly, such as playing three minutes, replacing and then backing back. We had to keep learning what we helped qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016. Then we started to get results. We got gold at the 2017 Asia Cup, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, where we finished fourth. It took a lot of time to form a team. Today we have a team. You saw in the Pro League, we competed and beat the world’s No.1 team. Today we have a good team. I know they will win medals at major events. The girls are very focused. Your thoughts on the younger generation of strikers that you helped groom? Lalremsiami, Navneet (Kaur), Sangita (Kumari), Sherjeet (Kaur) and Deepika, who are also a wear flicker, are very good. They have this urge to learn. Every time they talk to me, they want to learn. They are always ready for extra exercise. They know their diet and fitness. If a player knows how to stay in a high-performance environment and are disciplined, it’s really good for the team. They see and learn. Ask them. They have the knowledge of how to maintain high performance. I would tell them how to work on their finish, to have more shots on the goal once in the D and how it will help the team to perform and improve the results. It felt good to play with them. Your most memorable moment? Hard to choose one. In 2013, we won bronze in the Junior World Cup. Then the gold at the 2017 Asia Cup. Tokyo Olympics, when we were fourth. The hat-trick against South Africa. There are many such moments to celebrate. And the lowest point? Just a month before the Tokyo Olympics when we were preparing, the pandemic came. I lost my father. I lost the greatest support of my life. At the time, I felt that I had lost everything. I shared everything with my dad. At the same time, I sustained an ankle injury and did not know if I could stand on the ground again. I couldn’t even go to my father’s funeral. At the time, my team stood by me. They have always been there for me. They were like a family. That is why I am very sad to leave them. Unlike that, I have cut off a lot in my life. I sustained a lot of injuries. Sometimes I hurt so much that my face changed. I broke teeth, cut several times and broke my arm and leg. There were times when I thought of giving up. But the idea of ​​playing for my country kept me going.