Hima Das became the first Indian to win a track medal at any global meet and the second gold medalist at the U-20 Worlds after Neeraj Chopra.
Hima Das, an 18-year-old from Assam, created history as she became the first Indian woman athlete to win track gold in the women’s 400 metre event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. She registered a time of 51.46 seconds in the final at the Ratina Stadium in Tampere, Finland on Thursday to win gold in a world championship across all age groups.
Hima Das is the first Indian track athlete, who won a medal in the history of this competition. Her achievement is one of the biggest sporting achievements of India. With this gold, Hima Das became only the fourth Indian ever to win a medal at the Under-20 World Championships and only the second to win a gold after Neeraj Chopra won the Javelin Throw at Bydgoszcz in 2016.
After the win Hima Das said, “I am very proud to hold the flag of India on my shoulders, I’d like to thank India and my team leader and my coach. Next for me will be Asian Games but my big dream is to compete in Olympics.”
Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla said, “Very proud of Hima Das for creating history. It is one of the proudest moments for Indian athletics. Congratulations to Hima Das and her coaches.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Hima Das for making the country proud. Modi wrote on his twitter, “India is delighted and proud of athlete Hima Das, who won a historic Gold in the 400m of World U20 Championships. Congratulations to her! This accomplishment will certainly inspire young athletes in the coming years.”
Virender Sehwag wrote on his twitter, “Wow! So proud of you Hima Das. Incredible, historic achievement on becoming the first Indian track athlete to win a medal at any global event winning Gold at women’s 400m World U-20 Championships clocking a time of 51.47 seconds. Thank you for the happiness.”