News,Recent Posts |
July 14, 2018

On Thursday, Indian athlete Hima Das gave the country a big reason to celebrate. She created history by conquering the title of becoming the first Indian track athlete, as well as the first Indian woman, to win a gold medal in all age groups. The win in the women’s 400-meter event at IAAF World U20 Championships in Finland, left the whole country in awe and proud when the congratulations and good wishes came pouring in from around the world.

das

The 18-year old teen sprinter now holds the honour of breaking the dry spell. No Indian athlete won a gold at a global track event before her. Holding a medal and carrying the national flag on the shoulder with the head held high is indeed the best feeling in the whole world for the life of an athlete. Her eyes, along with many, were brimming with tears whilst chanting the national anthem standing at the top spot after the win. A real goosebumps moment.

And she did it in style. In Tampere, Finland, she didn’t have a great start, her competitors Ellen Connolly and American Taylor Mayson had better starts and it was evident that the gold will go to America. But in the last quarter, tables turned and Das sped ahead in lane 4 and won the race with an unbelievably easy margin. She completed the race in 51.46 seconds.

Mayson finished third and Romania’s Andra Miklos came second with Connolly taking the fourth spot.

“The last 100m has always been my strength,” Das said on Friday. “The conditions were good at the stadium and the support from the crowd very encouraging.”

Das was born in Assam and invoke interest in sports while playing football with boys in her school days. She aspired to become a football player and play for India. But her coach Nipon das and advisors got her interested in athletics. Only 3 months ago, she ran in Commonwealth Games and it has only been 18 months since she ran her first competitive race.

It is one of the purest and proudest moment and the whole country acknowledged it. “Very proud of Hima for creating history. It is one of the proudest moments of my life and for Indian athletics,” said Athletics Federation of India president and former Olympian Adille Sumariwalla.

Prime Minister along with many big shots took on Twitter congratulating and pouring heartfelt wishes for the young star.

We Could be Heroes

Hima Das’s accomplishment is more than just a feather in the cap. She directed the whole nation on a new path. She is only the first one with many more to come in the near future. An inspiration to all, especially girls, she showed everyone that a girl can have the whole world if she puts her heart to it.

The country where celebrating the birth of a girl child is uncommon and investing in girls’ education isn’t much of a priority, a wind of change is sweeping through and stories like that of Das’s are making it happen.

While the race was on, Das said there was nothing in her mind but the finish line. She had one focus, one dream, one goal in her mind: to win. A true hero and inspiration to all and the key is to never look back and no matter what life throws at you, you have to keep moving forward.

She’s not much keen on basking in the glory for long. “I want to focus on the future. Tomorrow, we have the 4x400m race. I am hopeful we can win a medal,” she said.

 

Comments

  2. Hima Das did an excellent job in the IAAF junior championship. She made the nation proud by her performance. Keep doing good in your event and achieve a lot more success further. Great sportswoman, keep inspiring young athletes. JAI HIND

Comments are closed.