File photo of Vandana Katariya.
Indian hockey contingent created history on multiple occasions during the ongoing 2020 Tokyo Olympics as the women's team reached their maiden semi-final while the men's team grabbed the first medal in Bronze since 1980 Moscow Olympics.
However, amid the Indian hockey surge at the biggest stage, Indian women's hockey team key player Vandana Katariya had to hear the news of casteist slur being targetted at her family hours before crucial women's hockey Bronze medal match vs Great Britain.
As per a Times of India report, following women's team defeat to Argentina in semi-final on Wednesday, two men allegedly circled Vandana's home at Roshnabad village in Haridwar and burst cracker while dancing in mocked celebration of the defeat. They further hurled caste abuses at the player's family saying that the team had lost because it had "too many Dalit players".
The report further stated that one of the accused is already detained by the local police.
More to follow...
