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Vandana Credits Influence Of Pillay, Ronaldo, And Bolt For Finishing As India's Most-capped Woman Hockey Player
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers: Indian women's hockey team forward Vandana Katariya, who retired from the international circuit on Tuesday, revealed drawing inspiration from legends like Dhanraj Pillay, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Usain Bolt to keep herself upbeat during her 15-year-long career in the senior side.
Vandana finished as the most-capped player in the history of Indian women’s hockey with 320 international appearances and 158 goals. She called it an emotional decision to hang up her boots. "It was a very hard decision to take. We stay with each other more than a family, so leaving them was an emotional decision. To feel and understand this decision is really difficult. Today I felt too emotional and took the decision to announce my retirement," she told IANS in an exclusive interaction.
Despite achieving multiple accolades over the years, the 2013 Junior World Cup triumph where she finished as the team's top-scorer in Monchengladbach, Germany, and the Tokyo Olympics' fourth-place finish remain close to Vandana's heart.
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