18-year-old Hima Das, daughter of a rice farmer in Assam, created history on July 12 by becoming the first Indian athlete to clinch the gold medal in the 400m final at the World U20 Championships in Finland.
Das clocked 51.46 seconds to finish ahead of Romania’s Andrea Miklos and Taylor Manson of the United States to clinch India’s first ever medal in track.
Miklos clocked 52.07 to claim silver while USA’s Taylor Manson took home bronze after finishing the race in 52.28 seconds.
Sonn after Das’s historic win, social media site Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages with some thanking ‘India’s daughter for making the country proud’.
Here are few reactions:
India is delighted and proud of athlete Hima Das, who won a historic Gold in the 400m of World U20 Championships. Congratulations to her! This accomplishment will certainly inspire young athletes in the coming years.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 13, 2018
Hima Das the nation is so proud of you. My congratulations to you for your Under20 win in Finland. Your historic achievement of winning India’s first ever track athletics world title will inspire girls to believe that nothing is impossible
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) July 13, 2018
Congratulations to Hima Das on scripting history by winning a Gold at U-20 World Championship. It is the first ever gold medal for India at any track event in a global competition. She has made the country proud. It is a special & glorious moment in India’s sporting history.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 13, 2018
What an amazing feat by Hima Das – big congratulations on winning the 400m gold at the World U-20 Championship!
— Jyotiraditya Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 13, 2018
Makes one super proud to watch Hima Das scripting history by winning our first ever gold _ in a track event at a world championship _! What glory! What inspiration! Wah India! pic.twitter.com/ymnOxmXqg4
— ______ (@ggiittiikkaa) July 13, 2018
T 2865 – CONGRATULATIONS .. #HimaDas , the first Indian Women to win a GOLD in World Athletic track event EVER ! INDIA is proud of you .. you have given us reason to hold up our heads HIGH ! JAI HIND !! ____ pic.twitter.com/Q0YVCx6FSf
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 12, 2018
Earlier in April, Das recorded an Indian U-20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth in the Commonwealth Games 400m final in Gold Coast, Australia.
