August 6, 2022: Major heartbreak for Assam and India as Indian Sprinter Hima Das failed to qualify for women's 200m final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Friday.

Nicknamed ‘Dhing Express’, Hima Das, a 22-year-old sprinter from Assam. She became the first Indian woman — indeed the first ever Indian athlete — to win a gold medal in any format of a global track event at IAAF World U20 Championships when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds. Born on January 9, 2000, to rice farmers in Dhing village of Assam’s Nagaon district, Das won five back-to-back gold medals in about a month in Czech Republic in July 2019. 

Hima Das was interested in sports since childhood. She regularly played football with local boys in mud pits next to her parents’ rice fields and was convinced to take up professional athletics by a coach.

Das mainly takes part in women’s 400-metre, 200-metre and 4x400-metre relays. At Asian Games in 2018, she won a silver medal in the 4×400-metre mixed relay. She also set an Indian U20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth in the Commonwealth Games 400m final in Gold Coast in April 2018. In September 2018, Adidas signed an endorsement deal with Hima Das. She was also conferred with Arjuna Award by the President of India on September 25, 2018.

Das passed her 12th examination from Assam Higher Secondary Education Council in May 2019. Recently, the Bannerghatta Biological Park named a tigress cub as 'Hima' to honour Indian athlete Hima Das.

The list of Hima Das’ records in July 2019:

 •            July 2, 2019: Hima Das bagged 200m gold in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland in 23.65 seconds.

•             July 7, 2019: Hima Das 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: Das 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.

The list of Hima Das’ records in 2018:

•             At Asian Games in 2018, Hima Das won a silver medal in the 4×400-metre mixed relay

•             In July, 2018, Das won the 400 m final at the World U-20 Championships 2018 at Tampere in Finland by clocking 51.46 seconds

•             She also set an Indian U20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth in the Commonwealth Games 400m final in Gold Coast in April 2018