Doughty sprinter Hima Das always preferred to practice with boys to โbetterโ her performance. This โwonder girlโ of the track who comes from a sleepy village in Nagaon district of Assam is the talk of the nation today. Indian athletics latest sensation created history by winning the gold medal in the womenโs 400 metre event at the IAAF World U-20 championships held at Tampere in Finland recently.
The โGoddess of Speedโ undoubtedly deserves the entire place under the sun. But, equal credit goes to her coach
Nipon Das who has by the sweat of his brow trained Hima. In fact, it was Nipon who had got her to Guwahati in January 2017 so that she could train at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.
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A Times of India report quoted Nipon as saying, โShe has been different than others ever since I first spotted her โ very disciplined and determined. Normally when a girl starts to train with the boys, they tend to improve their performance level. And Hima was so desperate to improve that she always wanted to run with the boys. She would do anything to better her timing.โ
Before hitting the tracks seriously, Hima used to play football in Dhing, a small place in Assamโs Nagaon district. Even senior boys could not โmatch up to herโ when it came to scoring goals.
The report further quoted Nipon as saying, โNo doubt, she is gifted. But, at the same time, she works so hard which makes her different from others. In her very first attempt at running 400 m, she clocked 57 seconds and then I realised that I was working with a champion. She always tell me she doesnโt run after medals, she runs after the clock. As a coach, people harboured a lot of expectations from me to scout talented athletes and polish them to become champions. Thanks to Himaโs feat, she has helped me achieve my dreams.โ
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Nipon Das first met Hima during the State-level meet in Sivasagar in 2016. But, he could โidentifyโ her talent only in 2017 during a coaching camp in Guwahati. โI found her to be a bright prospect after watching her movements and way of doing things. After that โฆ she kept on improving in every tournament,โ her coach added.
With the Asian Games round the corner (read in August), Nipon, who has โgiven wingsโ to Himaโs dreams of ruling the roost on the tracks, is โextremely hopeful of a better performance from herโ.
โI have high expectations from her and I am pretty sure she will accomplish all my dreams,โ says the โman of the momentโ Das. Himaโs rise has been meteoric and it has happened very quickly but, going by the โsprint queenโsโ grit and โlot of fire in belly attitudeโ she is sure to keep setting the tracks on fire in the years to come.