Hima Das Quick Facts
| Full Name | Hima Das |
| Nicknames | Dhing Express, Golden Girl |
| Profession | Sprinter; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assam |
| Date of Birth | 9 January 2000 |
| Birthplace | Kandhulimari village, near Dhing, Nagaon district, Assam |
| Events | 400 m, 200 m, 100 m, 4×400 m relay |
| Personal Bests | 400 m: 50.79 s (Jakarta 2018); 200 m: 23.10 s (2018) |
| Coach | Nipon Das |
| Biggest Win | 400 m gold, 2018 World U20 Championships, Tampere |
| Parents | Ronjit Das and Jonali Das, rice farmers |
| Nationality | Indian |
Why Hima Das Matters
Hima Das went from playing football on muddy village fields to world champion in barely two years. Her win in Tampere was the first time any Indian woman had won a world title in athletics at any age level, and the first time any Indian had won a track event at a global championship. The image of her in tears on the podium as the national anthem played became one of the most shared sporting moments of 2018. She also gave the North East, and Assam in particular, a national sports icon, and her rise drew attention to how much raw talent exists in rural India far from established training centres.
Hima Das Major Medals and Results
| Year | Competition | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast | 6th | 400 m |
| 2018 | World U20 Championships, Tampere | Gold | 400 m, 51.46 s |
| 2018 | Asian Games, Jakarta | Silver | 400 m, 50.79 s (national record at the time) |
| 2018 | Asian Games, Jakarta | Gold | Women’s 4×400 m relay |
| 2018 | Asian Games, Jakarta | Gold (upgraded) | Mixed 4×400 m relay |
| 2019 | European summer meets (Poland and Czech Republic) | 5 wins in one month | 4 in the 200 m, 1 in the 400 m |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games, Birmingham | Semi-final | 200 m, missed the final by 0.01 s |
Early Life and Family
Hima was born on 9 January 2000 in Kandhulimari, a village near the town of Dhing in Assam’s Nagaon district, to rice farmers Ronjit and Jonali Das. She is the youngest of five children. As a girl her first love was football, which she played with the boys in her village, and her speed on the pitch was what first caught people’s attention. A physical education teacher encouraged her to try running instead.
Breakthrough: From Village Fields to Guwahati
Coach Nipon Das spotted her at an inter-district meet, where she won the 100 m and 200 m wearing cheap spikes. Convinced she had rare talent, he persuaded her family to let her move to Guwahati, about 140 km away, to train properly. Within months she was winning national youth titles. In early 2018 her coaches moved her up to the 400 m, and at the Federation Cup in Patiala she ran under 52 seconds to qualify for the Commonwealth Games. In Gold Coast she lowered her personal best in both the heats and the final, finishing sixth.
Hima Das Career Journey
Tampere 2018: World Champion at 18
On 12 July 2018 at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, Hima came from behind in the final straight to win the 400 m in 51.46 seconds. It was India’s first gold in a track event at any world championship. The win made her a household name overnight and earned congratulations from the Prime Minister and much of Bollywood.
Jakarta 2018: Asian Games Success
A month later at the Asian Games in Jakarta, she won silver in the 400 m in 50.79 seconds, a national record at the time. She anchored India’s women’s 4×400 m relay team to gold and also ran in the mixed 4×400 m relay, which initially took silver and was later upgraded to gold after the winning Bahrain team was disqualified.
2019: Five Golds in a Month
A lower-back problem forced her to pull up during the 400 m at the 2019 Asian Championships in Doha. Racing mainly over 200 m to manage it, she then won five races in Europe in July 2019, at meets in Poznan and Kutno in Poland and Kladno, Tabor and Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic, the last of them back over 400 m.
Injuries and Setbacks (2020 to 2026)
The years since have been dominated by injury. A hamstring injury at the 2021 Inter-State Championships ended her hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham she missed the 200 m final by just one-hundredth of a second. In 2023 back and hamstring problems kept her out of the Asian Games trials. Recent reports describe her as working her way back gradually, racing mainly the 100 m and 200 m while the back injury continues to trouble her.
The 2023 Whereabouts Case
In September 2023 the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) provisionally suspended Hima over three whereabouts failures within 12 months. Whereabouts rules require athletes to report where they can be found for testing; the case did not involve a positive drug test. NADA’s disciplinary panel cleared her in 2024, and its appeal panel upheld that decision later the same year. NADA subsequently listed a 16-month suspension running from July 2023 to November 2024 under a case resolution agreement, a notice it later removed from its website amid confusion over the timeline. She was eligible to compete again from late 2024.
Hima Das Records and Milestones
- First Indian to win a world title in a track event, at any level (World U20 400 m, 2018).
- First Indian woman to win a world title in athletics at any age level.
- 400 m personal best of 50.79 s at the 2018 Asian Games, a national record at the time.
- Two Asian Games golds (women’s and mixed 4×400 m relays) and one silver (400 m) in 2018.
- Five international race wins in a single month in July 2019.
Hima Das Awards and Honours
- Arjuna Award (2018)
- Named UNICEF India’s first Youth Ambassador (2018)
- Appointed Assam’s sports brand ambassador
- Appointed Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assam Police (February 2021)
- A tiger cub at Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru was named Hima in her honour
Life Beyond the Track
In February 2021 the Assam government appointed Hima a Deputy Superintendent of Police, a role she combines with her running career. She signed an endorsement deal with Adidas in September 2018, appeared on the Karamveer special of Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan in 2019, and completed her Class 12 examinations in May 2019 while competing internationally.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hima Das
Why is Hima Das called the Dhing Express?
The nickname comes from Dhing, the town near her home village in Assam’s Nagaon district, combined with her speed on the track.
What did Hima Das win in 2018?
She won the 400 m at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, plus two relay golds and a 400 m silver at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Was Hima Das banned for doping?
She did not fail a drug test. She was provisionally suspended in 2023 over three whereabouts failures, was cleared by NADA’s panels in 2024, and later appeared in a NADA notice listing a 16-month suspension that ended in November 2024. She has been eligible to compete since then.
What job does Hima Das do?
Alongside athletics, she has served as a Deputy Superintendent of Police with the Assam Police since February 2021.
