Post injury horrors, Hima Das wants to ‘look forward’

Express News Service

KOCHI: After a year where she struggled with injuries and experienced the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Olympics, sprint star Hima Das wants to put all that behind her and focus on a big year ahead.

The 22-year-old has identified the Asian Games as her primary focus while adding that she wants to perform well in all the major events coming up.

“The Asian Games is the main focus because it has always been an important event for Indian athletes and we always look forward to doing well in it. Of course, there are some other really important events this year like the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. And the domestic season will also start soon so preparing for that. Traditionally, the Asian Games holds a lot of importance for us and the plan is to try and do well there,” said Hima during a virtual interaction organised by Adidas India.
Hima is currently training at the SAI centre in Thiruvananthapuram after shifting base from Patiala alongside other athletes owing to weather conditions.

But the 400m women’s national record holder admitted that Covid has disrupted preparations while suggesting that training was in full swing.

“Generally, we would be training abroad but due to the Covid-19 situation, things are different. Of course, you miss training abroad but here (in Thiruvananthapuram) things are going well. I have fully recovered from all the injury concerns I faced in recent times and just looking forward to competing in all the events coming up. It is time to look ahead,” she said.

When asked if she wanted to focus on the shorter sprints (100 and 200m) or the 400m, Hima admitted that it was too early to tell.

“I don’t want to declare that I will be focusing on this or that. Right now, I don’t want to give away what the plans are. That is something that is being planned out and you will find out when the season starts. Thankfully everything is going well in terms of preparations and I feel fit and training well,” she added.
Adidas is launching a new campaign as part of their ‘Impossible Is Nothing’ initiative which showcases the stories of various female athletes and Hima is among the faces of the campaign.