From Breaking Liquor Vends In Her Village To Breaking Records On The Track, Hima Das Was Destined To Shine

Hima Das – all of you must be familiar with the name by now. The sensational 18-year-old created history on Thursday, by ending India’s long wait for a track gold at an international event. Her blazing 400m final run at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships, saw her clinch gold in a thrilling few seconds.

Soon after rooting her name into the record books, Hima spoke to his father on the phone. The delighted teenager expressed her happiness and gave the news of her achievement to her parents in the most stylish way.

“While you all were sleeping, I rocked the world.”

According to TOI, Hima was left in tears after her father answered back by saying that the whole family had bunked their sleep to watch her run the race of her life.

“I told her that we were all awake to watch her run on television and she cried.”

Hima’s father, Ranjit Das, is a rice farmer from Assam’s Nagaon district.

Apart from Hima’s exceptional skills as an athlete, she is also a socially conscious teenager. The girl’s unbelievable devotion towards her country at such a young age, saw her take lead and crush the liquor vends in her village Dhing and it’s neighbourhood. Speaking of the same, a neighbour told TOI,

“The girl has the guts to do anything and everything. She is never scared to speak out against illegal things. She is a role model for us and for the country.”

However, for Hima, who is popularly known as the ‘Dhing Express’ in her village, athletics was not her first choice. She wanted to represent in India in football before a change of sport just two years ago. On the command of Shamshul Sheikh, a teacher in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, who was impressed by Hima’s speed while playing football, Hima made the jump.

She moved from Dhing to Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati for better training after Nipon Das, one of her two coaches, persuaded her parents to let her relocate. Hima began her career in athletics as a 100m and 200 m sprinter before stepping in the 400m format. Her bag of accomplishments consists of winning the Federation Cup in her first competitive 400m race and finishing sixth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

Coach Nipon Das is confident that Hima has the capability to win a gold at the Asian Games and even break the 50-second mark.

“It’s because of proper time, proper facility and proper support that she has achieved all this and will continue to do so in future.”

Before establishing herself as an inspiration for an entire nation, Hima has always been a motivation for his 52-year-old father, Ranjit. Speaking about his daughter, Ranjit said,

“She is as determined as a rock. Even when I was scared of sending her to train outside our village, she would tell me not to worry. I was motivated seeing her courage.”

We take out a moment to appreciate the monumental achievement of the teenage hero. For Hima Das, there is no looking back from here. Up and onwards!