Hima Das: Feet of Gold!

Imagine a situation where you left your gas stove on for too long and now your food is burned.

You left a tap open and now your tank is empty.

You slipped while walking.

When mishaps like this happen with us what is our first thought? Do we promptly figure out who was at fault, other than we ourselves? Usually under such situations we play the blame game. We blame it all on our situations.

This blame game could also have been played by India’s newest pride, Hima Das who has taken the world by storm by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal during the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in the 400-meter final race. She has proven herself to be a marvelous athlete who can not only compete with fellow world class athletes, but also beat them at their own game. She is an absolute inspiration to women all over the country. What she has achieved is truly sensational and unique.

This inspirational lady could also have played this blame game. She could have blamed it on the circumstances and situations, circumstances she lived under, circumstances of being poor.

Hima grew up amidst a joint family of farmers in her hometown, Kandulmari Village, Nagaon, a place which is a hundred and forty kilometers away from Guwahati. She is the daughter of a rice farmer, Ronjit Das. She could have blamed it on her situations and should have stayed in place and done nothing but she established herself with her dedication and zest to do something in life.

Before being able to establish herself as an inspiration for the entire nation, Hima has been the motivation for his fifty-two-year-old father, Ronjit. Speaking about his daughter, Ronjit said, “She is as determined as a rock. Even when I was scared of sending her to train outside our village, she would tell me not to worry. I was motivated seeing her courage.”

Right from childhood Das had been interested into the world of sports and would run, play football and play Kabaddi every now and then. Hima has always been an extremely confident girl who had faith in herself and her skills. Das was keen about taking up football. She was extremely passionate about the sport, until her school teacher made her pick athletics instead of football. She was spotted by a teacher of Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya in Morigaon, Assam who goes by the name, Shams Ul Haq. She spotted Das when she visited the Central government run school for a sporting tournament.

Within a year of her career as an athlete, Hima Das had a feather in her cap. She had already become the District Champion. Although, it took her two years to bring in the coveted title of being a State Champion. Earlier in 2016, Das won the one hundred meters’ race at the state level championship and ultimately made it to the finals of Junior Athletics Championship which was being held in Coimbatore, which she achieved with no training whatsoever.

She not only wanted good for herself but was also working towards bringing good to others. She was a positive soul and wanted betterment for all. She was a socially conscious girl who was extremely driven to make a difference in the lives of the people around her. She herself took up the initiative to bring in the changes in important factors which are currently heavily disadvantaged. Das has fought the battle to shut down liquor shops and has also picked up the challenge of making quality education accessible to the girl children living in her village. Hima’s neighbor stated “The girl has the guts to do anything and everything. She is never scared to speak out against illegal things. She is a role model for us and for the country.” Her friends describe her being extremely determined to get the jersey of India and finally, be able to wear it. She was popularly nicknamed as “ding express” back in her hometown, Assam.

Since childhood, she has been an extraordinarily competitive spirit. During the sporting tournaments, she always wanted to win the race no matter what it took. Hima Das has been described as an extremely focused and diligent athlete who was willing to put in the work to get to where she is today. This is what she showed. In January of the year 2017, the Directorate of Sports organized a camp for upcoming sportsmen. Hima took part and was able to dazzle every single one in the camp with her sheer performance. One of the spectators who was able to spot Das’ potential was Nipun Das. He asked her to shift to Guwahati at once for better training. When Hima arrived, Nipun Das even paid for her accommodation at the sports academy in Guwahati, until the funding’s arrived from the State Government. By this time, Hima did not even have a proper pair of running shoes with spikes embedded nor did she ever laid her eyes on a synthetic track. She was passionate about what she was doing and simply made a promise to herself to not disappoint the people who have shown faith in her and has invested in her future.

She could have blamed it on the situation of being poor and not having proper resources but she instead became more focused on achieving something in her life. She started off with a series of hundred and two hundred meter races. Eventually, coaches began to observe the style by which Hima ran was perfect for participating in the four hundred meter races. This is because Hima would start off in the race slow, and would later pick up her speed and finally reach her peak in the end. This is what the perfect four-hundred-meter race strategy looks like, and Hima perfectly fit the bill. In May during the year of 2017, Malakar and Das made their respective runs in the four hundred meters’ slot. Hima clocked in a lightning speed of a mere fifty-seven seconds.

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort” said Jesse Owens.

Hima is a true example of this line. With her immense dedication, capability and talent, Hima has been able to get to the position where she is now. Her achievements have a long road ahead of themselves. Hima is proof of how passion and diligence can make a difference in anyone’s life.

With effort, practice and dedication, Him was able to stun each of every one of us. Her pace has been one of the quickest over the years.

This is only the beginning. Many more accolades yet to come her way! She is an inspiration to all the women.

We salute you!