A nineteen-year-old sprint runner clinched five gold medals within 20 days. Now she has become the second athlete from Assam to claim a gold medal at the international level and she’s also the first Indian to win a gold medal in track events.
Born in a farmer’s family, Hima always wanted to pursue her career in football, so she played football with boys at her school. But later she changed her career from football to sprint running. Her first International event was Commonwealth Games 2018 in which she was able to secure the sixth position in 400m. But she came in the limelight when she won gold in 400m in ‘World Under-20 Championship’ that was held in Finland. Now her achievements begin from here.
She won three gold medals in distinct events: Poznan Athletics Meet, Klado Athletics Meet and Kunto Athletics Meet. She failed to complete her 400m heat in Asian Athletics Championship due to a back spasm. In 2018, she was awarded the Arjuna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind. On 20 July 2019, she claimed her fifth gold medal with timing 52.09 seconds; that is her best timing yet.
On Tuesday, 23rd July, all the members of the Rajya Sabha congratulated Hima for her achievements. Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma named her ‘Indian Golden Girl’. God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar also gave his best wishes. Hima Das made India proud. These achievements are warm-up games for Hima. In an interview, she said that she is now aiming for the upcoming World Championship.
I think, for an athlete, every race or game is quantifiable. So winning a gold medal is not enough for an athlete in small events because a decimal of seconds can create a big difference between the winner and the losers in World Level Championships. And, in my opinion, winning becomes necessary when the whole nation supports you.