‘He Hugged Me’ - When Natasa Recalled ‘Friendly’ First Meeting With Pandya

image-lslqf49eNatasa Stankovic with Hardik Pandya (x.com)

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya and Serbian dancer Natasa Stankovic married each other in mid-2020, mere months after their engagement in January. The two had their wedding vows renewed at an extravagant ceremony in February 2023 at Udaipur, roughly three years after their formal union.

Shortly after having their wedding vows renewed, Natasa spoke about her first meeting with Hardik, and revealed how she was smitten over by the cricketer’s confident persona.

When Natasa Stankovic recalled meeting with Hardik

A couple of months after Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic renewed their wedding vows in Udaipur, the latter of the two recalled her first meeting with the cricketer. Releasing highlights of their wedding on YouTube, Natasa said that she first interacted with Hardik through a mutual friend.

She further claimed that Pandya, who was sporting a shawl and a hat at the time, confidently hugged her even though she offered a handshake upfront. Natasa said:

“I went out with few of my friends and there was also a friend of mine who apparently was also HP’s friend. Then he walks in a hat, some kind of a shawl and blingy-blingy everywhere. In so many years in India, I had not seen such a person, such a persona. I was like, ‘What is this?’ ‘Who is this?'”

You know when you’re meeting someone for the first time, I was going for the hand and he came for a hug. Don’t know the name, nothing, he was just very friendly, that’s how we met for the first time.”

Watch: Natasa Stankovic and Hardik Pandya recall first meetings

Both Hardik and Natasa welcomed their first child, Agastya Pandya in July 2020.

Natasa and her son are often spotted attending Team India and IPL matches involving the star all-rounder.

As of now, Hardik Pandya is working his way towards attaining full recovery in time for the IPL 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies. The cricketer has been out of action ever since he slumped to ankle injury at the ODI World Cup at home last year.