Famous Indian Sports Personalities Like Hima Das
Hima Das
Fondly known as Dhing Express, Hima Das is a 20-year-old Indian sprinter from the state of Assam. India bestows her pride on Hima Das who holds the current national record in 400m with a timing of 50.79s. She is the first-ever Indian athlete to win the Gold in any track event at the IAAF World U20 Championship and has since then become a famous Indian sports personality.
Early Life
Hima was born to Ronjit and Jonali Das, residents of the Kandhulimari village, near the town of Dhing in Assam. Farmers by profession, Hima is the youngest child of Ronjit and Jonali. During her schooldays at Dhing Public School, she had a keen interest in playing football and wanted to pursue a career in the same. However, gathering enough motivation for a career in football in India seemed a futile challenge to her. It was then that she decided to move ahead with sprint running.
Hima’s parents, and first coach, Nipon Daw was further convinced of her latent talent when she won a Bronze medal in state-level competition. It was then that they decided of sending her to Guwahati for advanced training.
Away from family, in the Assamese city, she began her career as a sprint racer. After a few successful races in sporting at Coimbatore, she took the major leap of Participating in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Even though she couldn’t secure a medal in that tournament, her performance soon paved the way for a Gold.
Career Peak
India’s sprint queen Hima Das, one of India’s best sports personalities, holds the current national record in 400m with a timing of 50.79 seconds which she made at the 2018 Asian Games, held in Jakarta. Das gained recognition due to the honor conferred at the Championships in Finland in July 2018. However, in April 2018, she represented India at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
At the 2018 Asian Games, she qualified for the 400m final and set a new Indian national record. Hima went on to improve this in August 2018. Hima, along with M. R Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad, and V.K Vismaya, won the silver in the relay race at the Asian Games. It was later upgraded to gold when the Kenyan team was caught for doping violations.
The sprinter’s success continued in 2019, winning the gold in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. She also won a gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic. Hima was also poised to participate at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in October 2019 but was ruled out due to a back injury.
For representing India successfully, and making her country proud, Hima was conferred with the Arjuna Award by the President on September 25, 2018. The Government of Assam has also nominated this promising Indian sports person for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Climb to the top
Coming from a family of farmers, Hima Das underwent immense struggle to reach where she is today. From practicing without proper shoes across the fields of Assam to reaching the Commonwealth Games, the journey has been mammoth for her. Always trying to make the best of what she had, she carved out her name in gold at a very young age.
In 2013, when Das was 13, she participated in a sporting event where the physical education teacher was impressed by her dedication and discipline. He knew Gowri Shankar Roy and requested him to take Hima under his wing. She received her training at Nagaon Sports Association, where Gowri was the head of the Athletics wing. She would undergo rigorous training sessions twice a day at her training camp, an amount of hard work that eventually led to her qualifying for the Asian Youth Championship. Roy was not just her coach, but also an avid supporter. He often stepped in to pay for Hima’s travels when she needed to participate in various competitions and has a major contribution in making Hima a famous Indian Sports Person.
Her initial competitive journey was difficult as she could not manage to make a win. Her coaches sent her to play at the National Inter-district Athletics Championship in Visak where she did not manage to win anything. In her next selection as well in the Inter-district U16 Athletics Meet in Goalpara, Assam, she could not bag any of the medals.
Despite some hurdles along the way, Hima eventually shifted base to Guwahati. Nipon Das, an athletics coach associated with the directorate of sports and youth welfare recognized that Hima had something special. When she switched to 400m and clocked impressively, Nipoon realized that Hima would go on to shine at international sporting events, which is exactly what she’s done.
Upcoming Sports Events
Looking forward, Hima, one of the most famous sports personalities in India, has not yet qualified for the upcoming Olympics, but she is not too worried about that. In her interviews, she has stated that the priority is for the pandemic to be over soon. Once the games resume, the Dhing Express is confident about making it to the maiden games.