Assam sports secretary Dulal Chandra Das sent the letter of recommendation to the sports ministry on June 5.
The 20-year-old Hima Das from Dhing village in Assam, born on 9 January 2000, she is one of the youngest nominees for Khel Ratna this year 2020. Hima Das nicknamed the Dhing Express.
India’s top sprinter Hima Das, who had a stellar 2018, has been chosen for the prestigious ‘Khel Ratna’ by the state government of Assam.
India’s first track player to win a global holding at U20 World Championship in Tampere, Finland in 2018, Hima will play with ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal and cricketer Rohit Sharma for country’s highest sporting honour.
2018 had turned to be a memorable season for the youngest player Hima Das, who followed her U-20 world title with 400m silver, 4X400 mixed relay gold (upgraded), and women’s 4X400m gold at the Jakarta Asian Games.
She holds the Indian national record in 400 meters with a timing of 50.79 s that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia.
She won plenty of gold medals at smaller events in the 2019 season and was also requested to compete at the Doha World Championship. Still, a back injury ruled her out of the prestigious championship.
Hima Das is already a recipient of the Arjuna Award, which she took in 2018.
Hima Das appeared in India’s famous TV reality show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan called Kaun Banega Crorepati on 1 November 2019.
