Running towards her dreams: Hima Das

A girl from a small village in Assam shook the world with her outstanding performance in the IAAF World U-20 Championships 2018 in Tampere, making her the first Indian to win a gold medal in an international track event. Here’s her story, narrating her journey from running in the muddy fields of her village to running in the top international track competitions.

Hima Das at the 2018 Asian Games, Image Source: Wikipedia

Born on January 9, 2000, in a small village named Kandhulimari near Dihing town, in Assam, Hima Das was the youngest of five siblings. From an early age, she was interested in sports and always wanted to be a professional footballer. But faith had other plans. During an inter-school camp hosted at the neighbouring Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), the physical education instructor, Samsul Hoque, noticed Hima. He was very impressed by her dedication and punctuality.

She used to come every day and practice in the field before the sessions start and ended up winning all the races held at the camp. Hoque insisted she gives athletics a shot and it turned out to be a career-defining choice. Hima reached the Junior National Championships finals despite having little experience and winning the 100m bronze at the state competition.

The "Dhing Express," as she would later be called, made fast progress, and quickly rose to become one of the nation's top runners. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) selected her for the senior national camp because of her amazing performances at the U-18 nationals, the Asian, and the World Youth Championships in 2017, where she nearly missed winning bronze in the latter.

But despite all her success in the 100- and 200-meter sprints, Hima's coaches opted to transfer her to the 400-metre ones to give her a better chance at competing internationally. This proved to be a brilliant move. Hima Das easily won the 400-meter gold at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March 2018 in 51.97 seconds, beating the qualification time of 52 seconds for the Commonwealth Games later that year.

2018 indeed was a remarkable year for Hima. She set a new national record for the 400-meter individual event with a time of 51 seconds during the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. It also qualified her for the finals. The record was however short-lived as Hima broke her own record within a day by giving another outstanding performance to surpass her last goal. She broke the previous national mark with a time of 50.79 seconds. She didn’t stop there. She also won a gold medal at the 4x100 mixed relay along with MR Poovamma, Sarita Gaikwad, and VK Vismaya.

Hima Das  after winning at the IAAF World U-20  Championships, 2018 (Image source: Hindustan Times)

Das mostly competes in the women's 400, 200, and 4x400-meter relays. At the IAAF World U20 Championships in July 2018, 18-year-old Hima Das made history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in an international track event by winning the 400-meter race, clocking 51.46 seconds. For Hima, the year 2019 was equally amazing. In less than a month, The "Dhing Express" won five gold medals in July 2019. Her first gold medal of the year was at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland with a time of 23.65 seconds in the 200-metre race.

Adidas and Hima Das agreed to an endorsement agreement in September 2018. she also received the Arjuna Award from the Indian President the same year. By the state's Integrated Sport Policy, she was appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Assam Police on 27 February 2021. Time and again, Hima has proved that her maiden international medal was not just a stroke of luck. She continues to win many medals and give outstanding performances all around the world, making her the darling of Indian athletics fans.

As she says “I am not running after gold medals; I am running after time. And once I get that, gold medals will run after me.”