International Tiger Day: A Cub Named After Hima Das To Felicitate Her

The unstoppable Indian sprinter Hima Das who won five championships in the past one month, got honoured by the Bangalore Zoo. On the occasion of International Tiger Day, a six-month-old cub was named Hima after the athlete Hima Das. On 29th July Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) in Bangalore took this decision to honour the athlete and raise more awareness for tiger conservation simultaneously. Hima Das also known as the “Dhing Express,” holds the current Indian national record. In 400 metres she has a record-breaking time of 50.79 seconds at the 2018 Asian Games, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Authorities On Naming The Cub Hima

According to the reports the Bangalore Zoo wanted to felicitate the inspirational sprinter. Also naming a cub after such an inspirational figure will draw more tourists to the Zoo. This will help in raising awareness among the masses about the importance of tiger conservation. Vanashree Vipin Singh, executive director, BBP said, “A model on the impact of tiger extinction will be on display at the entrance of the zoo. Visitors will also have a chance to make their own tiger animal toys as part of the celebration.” reports GPlus.

According to the reports the Bangalore Zoo wanted to felicitate the inspirational sprinter. Also naming a cub after such an inspirational figure will draw more tourists to the Zoo.

This is not the first instance where the animal conservation authorities have used big names in order to attract the audience and spread awareness. According to the reports of Times of India, previously two sloth bears were named after women’s Indian cricket captain Mithali Raj and men’s former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the Bannerghatta Rescue Centre.

Read Also: Hima Das, Smriti Mandhana Make It To ‘Forbes India’s 30 Under 30’ List

Tracing The Success Of Hima Das

Hima comes from a very humble background, she belongs to a farmer’s family and was born and brought up in Kandhulimari village, near the town of Dhing in Assam. The youngest of five children, this 19-year-old sprinter was actually interested in playing football. She rose to fame last year with her record-breaking performance by winning the 400 m final at the World U-20 Championships 2018 held at Tampere, Finland. Her video of getting emotional during the national anthem at Finland went viral.

After this, there was no looking back for this star athlete and this year she made every Indian proud by continuously winning five gold at the International Championships. Staring with Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland, she won a gold medal in 200m race with a recorded time of 23.65 sec. After this, she consecutively won three gold medals in the next 200m race in Kunto Athletics Meet, Kladno and Tabor Athletics Meet (Czech Republic). Finally, on 20^th of this month, she won her fifth gold at Nove Mesto and Metuji Grand Prix Prague. She has been appointed as India's first-ever youth ambassador of UNICEF, India.

Read Also: Three Weeks. Five Golds. What Next For ‘Five’ Star Hima Das?

Divya Tripathi is an intern with SheThePeople.TV