July 13, 2018: Sprinter Hima Das on Thursday scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships as she clinched to top spot in the women’s 400 m final race on the third day of competitions in Tampere, Finland.
18-year-old Hima Das, a pre-tournament favourite, clocked 51.46 seconds to win the gold. Das, from Dhing village in Assam’s Nagaon district, now She 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. In fact, Das is the first Indian track athlete to have won a medal in the history of this competition.
President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Hima Das. In a tweet, he said: Congratulations to our sensational sprint star Hima Das for winning the 400m gold in the World Under-20 Championship. This is India’s first ever track gold in a World Championship. A very proud moment for Assam and India, Hima; now the Olympic podium beckons!
Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore in a tweet said that Hima Das creates history by winning Gold medal in 400 metre of World U20 Championships. She is 1st Indian athlete to win Gold in track event of U-20 World Championships. You have made proud. #NariShakti’
