GUWAHATI, June 30: Injury-hit Assam sprinter Hima Das’ Tokyo Olympics dream has been shattered after she failed to keep up with the qualifying time of 22.80 seconds in the women’s 200 metres finals at the inter-state athletics championship in Patiala on Tuesday
The 21-year-old Asian Games medalist, who looked nowhere near peak form, finished fifth with a timing of 25.03 seconds.
But her coach Nipon Das, who was with her in Patiala, is optimistic that the setback would make her stronger and resilient ahead of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games next year.
“Injuries can happen to any sports person but it is unfortunate that Hima missed the bus to Tokyo. But she has time in her hands to be up and ready for another Olympics (in three years time). Our next goal is to make her ready in nine months for the Commonwealth Games in March and the Asian Games in July, where her medal prospects are bright,” Das, who returned here from Patiala on Wednesday, told The Shillong Times.
Also known as the ‘Dhing Express’, Hima was however a doubtful starter for the 200 metres finals after she sustained a hamstring injury during the 100 metres heats last Friday and was under treatment.
The injury had kept her away from taking part in the women’s 100 metres and 4×100 metres qualification relay finals.
“The flip side though is that she was able to clock 25.03 seconds despite the injury. Besides, she is among the only two women athletes in India to have clocked a timing below 23 seconds in 200 metres’ races. She had clocked 22.88 seconds in the heats a few days back,” he said.
It may be recalled that she had become India’s fastest-ever female in the 400m category at the 2018 Asain Games in Jakarta, clocking 50.79 to win a silver medal when she was only 18 years old.
Asked about her decision to take part in the women’s 200 metres finals despite “not fully recovering” from her injury, Das said that it was a call taken by the Athletics Federation of India.
“She was advised to rest for two weeks. So I was a tad surprised by the decision but she was eager to take part in the race with a hope to qualify for the Olympics. However, as luck would have it, she could not qualify. But we have to move on,” he said.