Nikki Pradhan is an Indian hockey player who plays as a defender.
Wiki/Biography
Nikki Pradhan was born on Wednesday, December 8, 1993, in Heser village in Muhu subdivision of Khunti district, the tribal heartland of Jharkhand. Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Nikki completed her schooling from St. Paul’s Secondary School in Goelkera block of Pashchimi Singhbhum district in Jharkhand.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 5″
Weight (approximately): 50kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: dark brown
Body measurements (approximately): 32-28-30
Nikki Pradhan
family
Parents and siblings
Nikki Pradhan’s father Soma Pradhan is a Bihar police officer and Nikki Pradhan’s mother Jitan Devi) is a housewife.
Nikki Pradhan’s father Soma Pradhan and mother Jitan Devi
Nikki has three sisters namely Kanti Pradhan, Shashi Pradhan and Sarina Pradhan. She also has a brother named Govind Pradhan. Shashi Pradhan, also a former hockey player, has been working as a ticket collector at Hatiya railway station since 2009.
Nikki Pradhan (far left) with her siblings
other relatives
Former Indian hockey player Pushpa Pradhan is the cousin of Nikki Pradhan.
husband
Nikki Pradhan is single.
Profession
hockey player
In 2011, Nikki Pradhan participated in the Jharkhand National Games, also known as the 34th National Games of India. The competition was held in Ranchi and Nikki’s performance in the competition got her into the national training camp held in 2012. Nikki made her debut for India in 2011 at the Under-17 Asia Cup in Bangkok. In 2012, she was selected for the Indian Hockey Team to participate in the Under-21 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Indian team won the silver medal in the final of the tournament. In 2015, Nikki was selected for the national camp. In 2016, she made her international hockey debut on the tour of South Africa. Subsequently, Nikki was selected into the Indian women’s hockey team and represented India in the Rio Olympics in Brazil, where the Indian team finished sixth.
Nikki Pradhan (seated in right corner) with the Indian women’s hockey team at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Nikki Pradhan also participated in the Women’s Hockey Asia Cup 2017 in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan with the Indian team. The Indian women’s team defeated the Chinese team 4-1 in the final to win the championship.
Nikki Pradhan (bottom row, third from left) poses with teammates after winning the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup
She also won a silver medal with the Indian team at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Jakarta. Nikki also represented India at the 2018 Women’s Asian Champions Cup in Donghae, South Korea, where India won the silver medal in the final.
Nikki Pradhan (bottom row, fourth from right) with the 2018 Women’s Asian Champions Cup squad
Nikki also helped the team win the 2019 International Hockey Federation Women’s Series Finals in Hiroshima. In 2022, she represented India at the 22nd Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England. The Indian team won the bronze medal in the final of the tournament.
Nikki Pradhan poses with bronze medalist at Commonwealth Games 2022
In 2023, Nikki Pradhan was selected into the Indian hockey team to participate in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The Indian hockey team defeated Japan with a score of 2-1 to win the bronze medal in this tournament.
Nikki Pradhan after winning bronze medal in 19th Asian Games 2023
Facts/Trivia
- Nikki Pradhan counts former Indian hockey player and Olympian Sylvanus Dung Dung as her biggest inspiration in hockey.
- Nikki Pradhan’s cousin Pushpa Pradhan was invited to her school for motivational classes while Nikki was still a student. Pushpa gave a speech and shared her experience flying to New Jersey.
- Pushpa Pradhan’s speech at Nikki’s school about her flying experience made Nikki even more obsessed with joining professional hockey as she had always wanted to travel by plane.She also asked her teacher
Is she telling the truth? Did she really fly to the United States? ”
- Initially, she was afraid of playing hockey because of her thin frame, and she worried he would break a bone while playing the sport. However, as her confidence grew, she made a hockey stick out of bamboo and started playing ball.
- In 2004, Nikki joined the Rajyastariya Balika Hockey Center in Baliatu, where she began her professional hockey training.
- Dasrath Mahato, an assistant teacher at Pilaul Middle School, also provided Nikki with initial hockey training.
- Dasrath Mahato was the one who took charge of Nikki’s hockey career and told her parents
Now it’s my responsibility to make her great” and we couldn’t refuse the mentor. He gave her shoes and a stick.”
- The family’s dream was to fly one day and Nikki fulfilled this dream in 2023 when she took her siblings and extended family on a trip to Puri.
Nikki Pradhan’s Instagram post about taking her family on a plane for the first time
- Nikki comes from a very backward community and had to face a lot of difficulties during her initial training.she said in an interview
We had five kids and with our living situation at the time, we couldn’t afford (a lot). We used to make a stick out of scraps, bamboo sticks or any available material to play with. ”
- Nikki is the first female hockey player from Jharkhand to represent India in the Olympics.
- In 2023, Nikki Pradhan completed 150 international games during the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Pro League.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education