Hima Das wins Gold at Federation Cup, But Fails To Qualify For Asian Athletics Championship

By
Bhawna Kothari
-
3 min read
Hima Das gold
Fed Cup n2019 Women's 400 m final results. Image Source: Athletics Federation of India Twitter
Highlights

  • Hima Das missed the Asian Championships qualification mark by 0.13 seconds.
  • Avinash Sable's national record shattering performance took him to World Championships.
  • Jinson Johnson, Rajiv Arokia, Dutee Chand and Swapna Barman qualified for Asian Championships.

India’s speed star Hima Das clinched the gold medal in the Women 400 m displaying a superb performance at the Federation Cup Athletics meet in Patiala today.

She clocked 52.88 seconds to win the gold medal. M R Poovamma of Karnataka (53.15 seconds) and Sarita Ben of Gujarat (53.28 seconds) finished second and third respectively.

Hima made a classic return after she took a break of six weeks due to her Higher Secondary examination.

However, her performance was not upto the mark as she scored 54.45s in the first heat and then although improved to 53.40s in the semi-final but remained fourth in overall position after the end of the semifinal round.

 

The timing was a few seconds more than the Asian Championships qualifying standard of 52.75 set by the Athletics Federation of India.

Also Read: Top 5 Young Achievers in Indian Sports

Hima sets tracks on fire

In her first race of the year on March 8 at the 3rd Indian Grand Prix, she came fourth.

This time in Patiala at the Federation Cup, Hima scored 54.45 in the heats and then improved to 53.40 in the semi-final and yet remained in the fourth position when she took a position for the final.

But in the final, she blazed the track and was clearly ahead of her rival M R Poovamma by leaving her one and half-stride behind.

Hima narrowly failed to qualify for the Asian Athletics Championship which is scheduled to be held at Doha from April 26 as the qualifying timing was 52.75s.

Meanwhile, another girl from Assam Tundla Narzary today bagged bronze medal in the women shot put event in the same championship with a performance of 14.82m.

Also Read: Dutee Chand Is One Indian Athlete Sprinting Through Gender Barriers

How other Indian sprinters performed

 

Jinson Johnson and Rajiv Arokia won the men’s 1500m and 400m respectively to qualify for the Asian Championships. Heptathlete Swapna Barman also qualified for continental showpiece after winning the seven-event discipline with 5900 aggregate points.

The 24-year-old Avinash Sable from Maharashtra was the star of the day as he came up with a new national record time of 8:28.94 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase within six months of his earlier national record of 8:29.80 in September last year.

“I was in the wilderness for two months after parting ways with Nikolai sir. I heard people saying that I will not be able to do another record. Today I have proved it that I can run at 8:29. My timing can win a medal in the Asian Championships”, Sable said.

Ajay Kumar Saroj and Rahul, both of Uttar Pradesh, also crossed the Asian Championships qualifying time of 3:46.00 by clocking 3:43.57 and 3:44.94 respectively. But only two athletes from a country can compete in an event and the AFI selection committee will take a call on the matter.

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