Assam Express Hima Das became the second sportsperson from Assam to win a medal in the Asian Games after she bagged the silver in the women’s 400m race at the 18th Asian Games currently underway at Jakarta and Palembang. The 18-year-old champion sprinter clocked 50.79 seconds, bettering the 51.00 seconds she took yesterday (Aug 25) in the semi-finals to qualify for the finals, to better her own national record she had set yesterday.
Salwa Naser of Bahrain took the gold in the event clocking 50.09 seconds to set a new Asian Games record.
Hima began the race in the fifth lane and started the dash with a steady speed. She increased the pace as she approached the finish but Salwa was a shade better as she reached the finish line first while Hima bagged the silver.
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Elina Mikhina of Kazakhstan took the bronze with a timing of 52.63 seconds while Nirmala, the other Indian in the starting line-up, missed the bronze as she finished fourth clocking 52.96 seconds.
Meanwhile, there were wild celebrations at Hima’s hometown Dhing, and especially Kandulimari village, as people cheered and burst crackers to celebrate Hima’s medal-winning feat.
“I am very happy that Hima has won the silver. She has made us proud. It’s good that she has been bettering her timing again and again. She will keep on improving and bring more laurels in the days to come,” Hima’s father Ranjit Das told News Live.
“We are very very happy. It’s a proud moment for us. She might not have won the gold but we are happy with her performance. We are distributing sweets and celebrating her success,” Hima’s mother told News Live.
