Sprinter Hima Das Nominated For Prestigious Khel Ratna Award

NEW DELHI: Country's top sprinter Hima Das was nominated for the prestigious 'Khel Ratna' by the state government of Assam. Dulal Chandra Das, Assam sports secretary has sent the letter of recommendation to the sports ministry on June 5. The 20-year-old from Dhing village in Assam is one of the youngest nominees for Khel Ratna this year.

She has been the first track athlete to win a global title at U20 World Championship in Tampere, Finland in 2018. Ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra, women's hockey captain Rani Rampal and cricketer Rohit Sharma are in the list.

The year 2018 had turned to be a memorable season for 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 won various gold medals at smaller events in 2019 season and was also invited to compete at the Doha World Championship but a back injury ruled her out of the prestigious championship. Hima received Arjuna Award in 2018. (With inputs from PTI)