Third International Gold For Sprinter Hima Das In A Span Of Two Weeks

India’s ace sprinter Hima Das showed yet another brilliant performance on Saturday as she sprinted through and grabbed top spot and won her third international gold in women’s 200m event at the Kladno Memorial Athletics Meet at Kladno in Czech Republic — her third gold in a row, within just two weeks.

She had claimed the women’s 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in her first competitive 200m race of the year on July 2, clocked 23.65 sec. Dhing Express, then clinched her second international gold in women’s 200m with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland on July 7 as she clocked 23.43 seconds and then went on to bag the top honours in Czech Republic.

Kireb Rijiju took to Twitter to congratulate the athlete, and wrote, “Hearty congratulations Hima Das for winning the gold in 200m at #KladnoAthleticsMeet in 23.43 secs, @muhammedanasyah won the 400m in a national record time of 45.21 secs and #VKVismaya won gold in women’s 400m.”

Hearty congratulations @HimaDas8 for winning the gold in 200m at #KladnoAthleticsMeet in 23.43 secs, @muhammedanasyah won the 400m in a national record time of 45.21 secs and #VKVismaya won gold in women’s 400m. https://t.co/l1ps9WGl1y

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) July 14, 2019

Braving a sore back, the unstoppable runner from Assam clocked 23.43 seconds to bag the top honour in latest.

Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. #weekendvibes pic.twitter.com/mNZ1iBtpeD

— Hima MON JAI (@HimaDas8) July 13, 2019

READ: Please Don’t Disturb, Hima Das Appeals To Fans After Asiad Loss

The 20-year-old was disqualified in the previous competition that she took part in – the Asian Athletics Championships in Doha – due to a similar injury. Das had reportedly travelled to Spala, Poland, to continue her rehabilitation.

READ: Please Don’t Disturb, Hima Das Appeals To Fans After Asiad Loss

Previously, Hima stood fourth in her first race of the year on March 8 at the 3rd Indian Grand Prix. This year, she made it to the ‘Forbes India 30 Under 30’ list. She has also been appointed as the country’s first youth ambassador to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India, recently.

Last year, she clinched a silver medal in the women’s 400m final of the Asian Games, clocking 50.79 seconds. Again the same year, Hima along with her teammates — Mohd Anas, Poovamma and Arokia Rajiv — bagged a silver in the 400m mixed relay. This was the first time the event debuted at the Asiad. The Indian team clocked three minutes and 15.71 seconds to finish behind Bahrain (3:11.89).

In July last year, Hima proved her mettle by becoming the first Indian woman to win gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships, in Tampere, Finland. During the track events, the sprinter earned India’s first-ever gold, clocking 51.46 seconds in the 400-metre women’s final.

Hima had also won gold in 4x400m women’s relay at the last Asian Games and was among the 20 recipients of the prestigious Arjuna award this year

Before Federation Cup, she was on a one-month break from training since she was focusing on her Class 12th examinations.

Hima also showed a brilliant performance at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April this year when she qualified for the final of the women’s 400m event, registering a personal best of 51.53 seconds timing. Thus she became the first Indian woman to qualify for an athletic track CWG final. Unfortunately, she finished sixth in the final.

Read More Stories By Ria Das