Nikki Pradhan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nikki Pradhan

• Nikki Pradhan’s biggest inspiration in Hockey is the Indian player and Olympian Sylvanus Dung Dung.

• Nikki Pradhan’s cousin, Pushpa Pradhan, was invited to her school for a motivating speaking session in which she spoke about her flight experience. Nikki was more interested in playing professional hockey since she had always wanted to sit in an aeroplane.

• Nikki received her initial hockey training at her school from the coach Dasrath Mahato who was an assistant teacher at that time.

• In 2004, Nikki joined the Rajyastariya Balika Hockey Center in Bariatu where she began receiving her professional hockey training.

• In 2011, Nikki Pradhan competed in the Jharkhand National Games, also known as the 34th National Games of India. The event was held in Ranchi, and Nikki’s performance qualified her for the national camp, which took place in 2012.

• In 2012, she was chosen to represent India in the Under-21 Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Indian team earned silver in the event finals.

• Nikki qualified for the national camp in 2015. In 2016, she made her international hockey debut on the South African Tour.

• In 2016, Nikki was picked as a member of the Indian Women’s Hockey team, which competed in the Rio Olympics in Brazil, finishing sixth.

  

• She was first afraid of playing hockey due to her slim physique. She was afraid she’d break a bone while playing the sport, but as her confidence grew, she made a hockey stick out of a bamboo stick and began playing.

• Nikki Pradhan also represented India in the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup, which was held in Kakamigahara, Gifu, Japan. The Indian women’s team won the title after defeating China in the final by the score of 4-1.

  

• She was a member of the Indian squad that won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang.

• Nikki represented India at the 2018 Women’s Asian Champions Trophy, which was held in Donghae, South Korea, and the Indian team won the silver medal in the finals.

  

• In 2022, she represented India in the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The Indian team earned the bronze medal in the tournament’s final.

  

• In 2023, Nikki Pradhan was selected for the Indian hockey team’s squad at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The Indian hockey team bagged the bronze medal in the championship, defeating Japan by the score of 2-1.

  

• In 2023, Nikki Pradhan completed her 150 international caps during the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023.

  

• Nikki had a difficult time throughout her early training because she came from a very backward town. She was quoted saying in an interview that,
  

  We are five kids, the state of our livelihood at that time, we couldn’t afford (much). We used to play by making a stick out of broken pieces, bamboo sticks or any available material.” ^[1]Revsportz

• Nikki was the first woman hockey player from Jharkhand to represent India in the Olympics.