Hima Das: The Golden Girl From Assam village girl to Sprint Queen to Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assam, Hima Das has truly inspired young Athletes
Born in a poor family near the town of Dhing in Assam, Hima Das was always interested in sports from a very young age. She used to play football with boys on a muddy field in her village school and wanted to pursue football as a career. She would sometimes practice the game in her father’s rice field. But due to her financial condition, she could not afford proper shoes for the game. One day, her physical education teacher noticed her playing and was impressed by her speed, and asked her to participate in the inter-district athletics competition. At first, she was hesitant to participate as she thought she was at a disadvantage as she had no formal training, but after participating she realized that this was her calling. Though, she didn’t win any medal but was selected for the inter-district U16 Athletics Meet in Goalpara, Assam for 100 and 200 m sprint where again she was unable to win the medal. But Das had a very strong will and determination which kept her going and in 2016, she won a Gold medal at both the 100 and 200 m sprint at the inter-district Sports Meet.
At the competition, she was spotted by two coaches who thought that she had potential and asked her to join their camps in Assam. She was very young at that time and was worried about how she will manage alone. When she told her father, he supported her by saying that these are small challenges that will help her achieve bigger goals. He said if one day she gets to represent the country, it would have been worth it.
In a Facebook post shared by Humans of Bombay, Himas Das talked about her rigorous routine in the camps. She used to wake up before the crack of dawn, train for a couple of hours and then train again in the evening. During her days in camp, she had to take care of herself. She missed her home and comfort but her determination kept her going. “All that hard work finally lead me to get qualified for the Asian Youth Championship, where I came 7th and then even the World Youth Championship, where I came 5th!,” says Hima Das.
Hima Das overcame all her hurdles and even achieved all the goals she has set for herself. Due to her continuous determination, she even got to represent India at Asian Games and at IAAF World U20 Championships where she won the first Gold medal. She became the first Indian woman to win a Gold medal of any format of any track event at the IAAF World U20 Athletics Championships in 2018. She clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds.
Today, she has bagged so many medals to her name. She has also been given Arjuna Award by the President of India on 25th September 2018. The lists of Hima Das’ records are given below:
- July 2, 2019: Hima Das bagged 200m Gold in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland in 23.65 seconds.
- July 7, 2019: She won 200m Gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland in 23.97 seconds.
- July 13, 2019: Das won 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic in 23.43 seconds.
- July 17, 2019: She won a gold medal in the 200m race at Tabor Athletics Meet Czech Republic in 23.25 seconds.
- July 20, 2019: Das won a gold medal in the 400-metre event in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, in 52.09 seconds.
- July 12, 2018: Das won the 400 metre final at the World U-20 Championships 2018 at Tampere in Finland by clocking 51.46 seconds
- July 2018: She also won a silver medal in the 4×400-metre mixed relay at Asian Games
- April 2018: She set an Indian U20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth in the Commonwealth Games 400m final in Gold Coast
Hima Das has been recently appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Assam Police on 26th February 2021. She has been appointed under the Integrated Sports Policy of the state government as Class-I officers. She has made the state proud with her achievements in the national and international sporting arena.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal believes that the appointment of Das would inspire the youth to devote themselves more sincerely in the field of sports.
