Asian Games 2018: I was nervous before my race, says Hima Das

Hima broke the national record twice in two-days in 400 m event.

She has beaten the national record twice in two days but India's newest sprint queen Hima Das said she was nervous ahead of Asian Games 400m final where she won a silver medal on Sunday.

Hima clocked 50.59 seconds to win the silver, behind pre-race favourite Bahrain's Salwa Naser who won the gold in a new Games record time of 50.09 seconds.

Hima, the reigning Under-20 world champion, had qualified for the final with a national record time of 51.00 seconds Saturday, bettering the 14-year-old mark set by Manjeet Kaur (51.05) in Chennai in 2004, and she on Sunday bettered it again.

"You surely get nervous. They don't see but only I know how nervous I get," said the 18-year-old sprinter from a village near Dhing in Assam.

Naser, the Nigerian-born 2017 World Championships silver medallist and winner of four legs of Diamond League Series this year, did not have to exert much in the end to clinch the goal.

"She (Naser) is a big athlete, I am happy to compete with her and I learnt in both the races. I grabbed a bit about race technique bit it's difficult to explain," said Hima who finished behind the Bahraini in the preliminary heats also.

"She is perfect athlete, I started my career just two years. I played football and it helped in athletics. But she is World Championship medallist, I learnt a lot from her."

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Hima, however, said she does not think of reputation of a competitor when she steps on to the track.

"They are all good athletes. Good athletes will be there at good competitions but I don't think about them, I just think of bettering my own time," said Hima who has developed a habit of bettering her own mark in every subsequent race.

Asked if she knows how fast she can run in future or if she is close to her best, she said, "I am not sure how fast I can run."

Asked to comment on her rapid progress in such a short time, she shot back, "What kind of question is this? We always think of bettering our mark."

Hima said her coach Galina Bukharina did not prepare any special strategy for the final.

"It was tough competition, I knew, I am happy I bettered my mark. I was not confident but knew I will better by some margin," she said.

She said she did not plan her final race on Sunday.

"When you run, you don't think whether to run first 100m in such time and next 100m in such. There is no time to think. You don't think who will be ahead or behind, you just run.

Article Source BS

Hima Das: From rice fields of Assam to World U-20 Athletics Championships

Hima Das clocked 51.46s to finish ahead of Andrea Miklos of Romania and USA's Taylor Manson at the World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Hima Das on Thursday made the country proud by becoming the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold at the world level.

The 18-year-old won 400m gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletic Championships by clocking a speed of speed of 51.46s.

She is also the first Indian -- men or women -- to have won a gold in a track event at the world level.

Das now joins the illustrious company of star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold in Poland in the last edition in 2016 in a world record effort.

The win triggered celebrations at the Indian camp and many people, including the Prime Minister and the president, took to social media to praise the Assam girl.

Here are a few facts that we know about the life and journey of Hima Das:

1. According to The Indian Express, the 18-year-old started participating in competitive race only 18-months back.

2. She is from Dhing village in Nagaon district of Assam. Hima's father Ronjit Das is a rice farmer.

3. She was interested in sports since childhood as she regularly played football with local boys in the mud pits next to the rice fields.

4. She was convinced to take up athletics by a coach with the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare.

5. The coach later asked her to shift to Guwahati and arranged for her accommodation near the Sarusajai Sports Complex.

6. In the Commonwealth Games held in April, Das clocked an Indian U-20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth.

7. She improved her timing further at the recently held National Inter-State Championships in Guwahati. Das won gold at the event while improving her timing to 51.13 seconds.

Story By BS