It took only a few hours after India's defeat in the women's hockey semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics, for faults in the existing caste system to arise. As the entire nation hailed the Rani Rampal-led side on reaching the Olympic semis for the first time, two upper caste men circled star striker Vandana Katariya's house at Roshnabad village in Haridwar and began to hurl casteist slurs at her family. The entire ordeal also included them bursting crackers and dancing in mock celebration. Meanwhile, Vandana's brother also spoke to the Times of India and revealed that the men stated 'the Indian team lost because too many Dalits' were included.
Fast forward to almost 12 months since the incident, the 30-year-old will once again be representing India in the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 in Birmingham, starting from July 28. Also this time, Katariya will be much more important to India's tactics due to the absence of Rani Rampal, who is out due to an injury. Despite India finishing a joint-ninth with China in the 2022 Women's FIH Hockey World Cup, Katariya's importance was once again shown as she top-scored for the side with three goals.
Speaking to Hindustan Times during a media interaction, former India men's hockey captain Viren Rasquinha lashed out at caste politics in Indian sports and rushed to Katariya's defence. "When you step across the white levels, then the name written on the front of your jersey is written India? For me it doesn't matter about which caste, which creed, which religion, rich, poor whether Punjab or Tamil Nadu, doesn't really matter", he said.
Preaching that 'every single Indian should condemn caste politics to the highest level', Rasquinha also explained Katariya's importance to the country. "I think all of us, every single Indian should condemn caste politics to the highest level. Vandana is one of India's most experienced players. But even if she was not. She is representing the country and we have to support her at every single level. Support all of the players, who are representing India", he said.
{{/usCountry}}Preaching that 'every single Indian should condemn caste politics to the highest level', Rasquinha also explained Katariya's importance to the country. "I think all of us, every single Indian should condemn caste politics to the highest level. Vandana is one of India's most experienced players. But even if she was not. She is representing the country and we have to support her at every single level. Support all of the players, who are representing India", he said.
{{/usCountry}}"So for me this is absolutely unacceptable to have an Indian hockey player facing any threats or whatever. They work years and years to get where they are. We should ensure that we support them to the highest level. It's easy to support them during the good times, but we have to support them during the tough times as well."
"Vandana has brought immense glory, respect and honour to the country and for me that's the only thing that matters", he further added.
For CWG 2022, the women's hockey event has been split into two groups of five teams each. Each team will face each other in their respective groups in a single round-robin format. After the group stage, top-two sides from each group will go to the semi-finals, while the third-placed outfits will clash in the fifth-place playoff.
The group stages will be held from July 29 to August 4, while the position classification and medal matches will take place from August 5-7. India have been drawn alongside hosts England, Canada, Wales and Ghana in Group A. In the absence of Rampal, India will be captained by goalkeeper Savita Punia and their first match is scheduled for July 29, against Ghana.
Watch the LIVE coverage of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 4 (English) & SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels starting from 28th July 2022 at 11:30 pm IST.