Asian Games: Hima clinches silver in 400-mtr

Guwahati (Assam), August 26, 2018:

Hima Das, the new track and field queen of India, scripted history yet again on Sunday by clinching silver medal at the Asian Games 2018 being held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

She registered timing of 50.79 seconds and came second to Salwa Naser of Bahrain who clocked 50.09 seconds. Hima’s timing of 50.79 seconds is a national record. She will next compete in 200-mtr and 400-mtr relay.

Once the final was over, Assam, including Hima’s Kandhulimari village in Nagaon district, erupted in jubilation. People distributed sweets, burst firecrackers and chanted slogans “Hima, Hima”, “Hima Das zindabad” etc.

In the semifinal on Saturday, Hima broke a 14-year-old national record by clocking career best 51 seconds to finish behind Naser who had registered 50.86 seconds to create a new Games record.

The rise of Hima, hailing from a non-descriptive village and competing in the Asian Games for the first time, has been meteoric. It has been only a year-and-a-half that she took athletics very seriously.