Hima Das creates history; becomes first Indian woman to win gold in World Junior Athletics

Indian sprinter Hima Das created history on Thursday by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships 2018. The 18-year-old clocked 51.46 seconds in 400-metres in women’s final.

.@Adille1 -History Created.First ever Gold Medal at World Athletics Championships.Very proud of Hima,her Coaches Galina & Basant. Thank U Hon Minister @Ra_THORe ,SAI & Govt of India for ur support to AFI and belief. One of the proudest moments of my life. @NeelamKapur @Onkarkedia pic.twitter.com/N7shWdENUO — Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 12, 2018

Andrea Miklos of Romania came second with a timing of 52.07 seconds to claim the silver. USA's Taylor Manson took home bronze after clocking 52.28 seconds.

"I am very happy to win the gold in the World Junior championships. I want to thank all the Indians back home and also those, who were here cheering me. It was very encouraging to have this kind of support," she said after the race, as reported by PTI.

Das is the first woman to win a gold medal in a World Championship at any level, be it youth, junior or senior.

She is also the first Indian -- men or women -- to have won a gold in a track event at the world level.

Das, from Dhing village in Assam's Nagaon district, now 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.

The other medal winners are -- Seema Punia (bronze in discus in 2002) and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze in discus in 2014).

 

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! #PresidentKovind — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 12, 2018

Congratulating Das, President Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter, saying, "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!"

 

With PTI inputs