Star Sprinter Hima Das has been appointed as the country’s first ever youth ambassador of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) India, the official Twitter handle of UNICEF India announced.
"Meet our Youth Ambassador, Hima Das! The Asian Games medallist is @UNICEF India's first ever youth ambassador as part of #WorldChildrensDay celebration. #GoBlue," UNICEF wrote.
The 18-year-old athlete from Assam was given the responsibilities by the world organisation on Wednesday evening during the Children’s Day celebration on November 14. The Asian Games gold-medallist is honoured to be chosen as India's Youth Ambassador and said, "I hope I will be able to inspire more children to follow their dreams."
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Das hails from a small village at Dhing in Nagaon of Assam, on August 26 this year, she clinched a silver medal in the women’s 400m final of the Asian Games, clocking 50.79 seconds. Again on August 28, Hima along with her teammates Mohd Anas, Poovamma and Arokia Rajiv bagged a silver in the 400m mixed relay. This is the first time the event debuted in the Asiad. The Indian team clocked three minutes and 15.71 seconds to finish behind Bahrain (3:11.89).
She also had won gold in 4x400m women’s relay at the last Asian Games and was among the 20 recipients of the prestigious Arjuna award this year.
In July, the 18-year-old proved her mettle by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships, in Tampere, Finland. During the track events, the sprinter earned India’s first-ever gold, clocking 51.46 seconds in the 400-metre women’s final.
Hima also showed a brilliant performance at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April this year when she qualified for the final of the women’s 400m event, registering a personal best of 51.53 seconds timing. Thus she became the first Indian woman to qualify for an athletic track CWG final. Unfortunately, she finished sixth in the final.
Feature Image Credit: IAAF / Twitter
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