India hockey captain slams racist abuse of Dalit player’s family
Youths taunted the family in player’s Uttarakhand state home, saying Dalits in the team were to blame for the bronze-medal play-off defeat.

India’s hockey captain Rani Rampal has criticised the “shameful” racist abuse of a team member’s family, saying it was damaging the country’s quest to boost its sporting image.
India saw a hockey renaissance at the Tokyo Games with the men taking third place – their first medal in 41 years in a sport where they have won a record eight Olympic gold medals – while the women were narrowly beaten by Great Britain in their bronze medal play-off.
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The women’s best-ever Olympic performance was tainted by abuse of the family of Vandana Katariya, from the so-called “lower-caste” Dalit community that has faced generations of discrimination.
Youths taunted the family at their Uttarakhand state home saying the Dalits in the team were to blame for the defeat. The family has said that threats were made, too.
Casteist slurs hurled at Hockey Star Vandana Katariya’s family after India lost to Argentina in the Women’s hockey semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics.
Few “Upper Caste” men gathered outside Vandana Katariya’s house in Haridwar and created ruckus. #VandanaKatariya @Profdilipmandal pic.twitter.com/6xIImR4asS— Dalit Desk (@dalitdesk) August 6, 2021
“It’s such a bad thing,” Rampal told reporters. “We put our life and soul into it, struggle and sacrifice so much to represent our country and when we see what is happening – what happened to Vandana’s family – I just want to say to people please stop this religious division and casteism.
“We have to rise above this. We come from different religions – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh – and come from all parts of India. But here we work for India.”
The 26-year-old Rampal, whose own father pulled a cart to feed his family, added that it was “such a shameful thing when we see that people behave like this”.
While the team had felt “so much love from people” despite not winning a first medal, she said that lessons had to be learned to end such abuse “if we want make our country a sporting nation”.
India’s 200 million Dalits, once known as the “untouchables”, are regular targets of discrimination and often deadly abuse.
When Women Team qualified for the semi-final: “Wow cheers girls! Daughter of India!”
When the Women Team lost: “The team lost because it had too many Dalit players.”
The word shameless won’t suffice for the double standard Casteists in India. #CasteEveryWhere #Hockey pic.twitter.com/ItZuRE0ZZV
— Rama Naga (@RamaJNUSU) August 5, 2021
‘India lost because it has too many Dalit players’:Casteist slurs thrown at hockey star Vandana Katariya’s family – Dont worry you won billions of hearts. Great salute for your efforts. No idea on how many good players can’t participate because of these casteist #VandanaKatariya
— kavinsadhasivam (@kavinsadhasivam) August 6, 2021