New Delhi: Till a few days back, the world hardly knew about this rice farmer’s daughter from Dhing who had her goals set for a big win.
Now, Hima Das can’t get over all the attention and appreciation she is receiving after becoming the world’s best Under-20 women’s 400 meters runner.
However, her coach Nipon Das feels that this is just a start for her on the road to glory and tips her to get a medal again in the Asian Games.
“She always had the zeal and dedication to achieve her dreams and make it happen. When I met her for the first time in January 2017, I knew she will touch the sky and will do something great for the country,” Das, the athletics coach with the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare, said in a telephonic conversation from Guwahati.
Coming from a little-known village in Assam’s hinterlands, Hima clinched top spot in the women’s 400m final race in the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Tampere (Finland).
But before this big win, the 18-year-old had to spend days practising football in the mud-pits adjoining rice fields. This was the time Das met her.
He convinced her parents to shift her to Guwahati and got her admitted to the state academy that only served in boxing and football. He along with state coach Nabajit Malakar were so impressed with her talent that they took loans to send her to the World Youth Championships in Kenya the same year.
Talking about her love for running, Nipon said: She was always into 100 and 200-metres races and was doing great, but we thought she can do better in 400 metres as well. I started taking her trials for 400 metres and she performed really well. After that, her schedule for the 400-metre race started.
“I feel that Hima is very hard-working, dedicated and has strong psychological power. She learns by observing things. She has good relations with everybody. When she is on the ground, nothing can distract her except work,” Das told IANS.
He also said Hima preferred training with the boys to improve her running.
“That was a strategy. If a girl trains with a boy, her performance improves. She has a high confidence level and when she thinks of doing something, she ends up doing that,” he said.
Even Hima’s family has been very supportive, the coach said. “When I told her to shift to Gauwahati, the first thing she said was: ‘I have to consult my family’ and her family took no time to give her permission. For them, she was going to do something great for the country. She comes from a joint-family and every member is very supportive,” Das said.
“Now I am thinking of supporting her younger sister too. I have a plan to go to Assam and look out for talent who can do great in sports and can represent India. I will support candidates in every possible way. Even Hima has the same plan,” he added.
Das says that till a few days back, nobody knew who Hima Das was, but now her world has changed. “People are calling me to say that they will support Hima in whatever way possible. In the same way, we want to support other athletes and this is our objective. We saw one Hima conquering the world, we want to give more such Himas to the world,” he said.
Das is confident Hima will win big at the Asian Games too.
“I am sure she is going to win big at the Asian Games too. She is more confident than me. She keeps telling me ‘Sir I never run after medals, but against time’. When I will take less time to finish a race, I will automatically win’. She will definitely make India proud once again at Asian Games,” he said.
— IANS
