Once a youth leader, Hima now wants her village to prosper
NEW DELHI: Taking the lead is second nature to Hima Das – on and off the track. She did it at the U-20 World Championships in July and at the Asian Games a month later to become Indian athletics’ golden girl. Much before that, the 400m sensation had showed early signs of her fighting spirit at a place close to her heart – Kandhulimari.
The hamlet in central Assam was witness to the teenager’s bravery in organising a demolition drive against an illegal liquor store. Following Hima’s winning exploits at the world meet and the continental event in Jakarta, that incident was well documented by the media. The 18-year-old’s nonchalance in taking on challenges has remained, if not gone up leaps and bounds.
“I want to develop my village. For t hat whatever needs to be done, I will do. That’s why I had led the campaign. Even now I am part of a newly-formed Brothers Club, in which my cousins and my friends are involved. It works for the betterment of the village,” Hima said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday.
“They are doing their job, I will do mine. They discuss with me before taking any step. I was also involved in student’s union. We would roam around and go together whenever there was any problem. There I had named the group ‘Mon jai’ (I feel like, in Assamese). It is my favourite tagline from a song and I use it in almost all social media posts.”
Hima’s run (she is the first Indian track athlete to win a global event) has earned her the moniker ‘Dhing Express’, which refers to the town nearest to her village. But Hima says she is still the same girl from Kandhulimari.
“I don’t think I have made Dhing popular. It is already popular for the people living there. I am just satisfied I have been able to make them happy.”
Her Asian Games 400m silver-winning time of 50.79 seconds is a national record, but to do well at global level she must shave off another second. For perspective, 22 athletes across the world have gone faster this year with six clocking less than 50 secs in 400m.
“I have not set a target of say one year or two years in which I want to do sub-50 timings. My current timing is 50.79 seconds and in my next race if I time even .01 second less, I will consider it a success.
“Athletics is getting a lot of attention now after the Asian Games. In fact, Indian sport is not just about cricket now. People recognise us now and also our achievements and it is great.”
Her family’s attitude to her stardom hasn’t changed, says Hima. “When I won the U-20 worlds in Finland, I called up my father to inform him. He just said he was going to sleep. I told him ‘in the morning you will realise what has happened’.”
Facilities have improved and Hima says the onus is on them to take the next leap. “We went to Poland and Czech Republic before the Commonwealth Games. I am training under foreign coaches as well. I can’t complain about facilities. I also have personal coaches. It’s up to me now to realise the dreams the country has got,” Hima concluded.