Photo: Sesuajd · CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Person of the Day: Hima Das, the Dhing Express Who Made History
When a teenager from a paddy-farming family in Assam crossed the finish line in Tampere, Finland, in July 2018, she didn't just win a race — she rewrote what was thought possible for Indian track and field. Hima Das, the sprinter the world now knows as the Dhing Express, became the first Indian athlete ever to win a gold medal in a track event at a global championship. Her story is one of raw talent spotted in a rice field, a relentless rise, and a young woman who turned individual speed into national inspiration.
This is a career journey worth knowing in full — from football in the mud to a podium in Europe, and from the track to a uniform in the Assam Police.
From the Rice Fields of Dhing
Hima Das was born on 9 January 2000 in Kandhulimari, a small village near the town of Dhing in Assam's Nagaon district. Long before she was a sprinter, she was a footballer, playing with the boys in the muddy clearings near the fields where her family farmed. Speed was always her gift; the question was simply which sport would harness it.
The turning point came in 2016, when a school physical education teacher, Shamsul Hoque, gently steered her away from football and toward an individual discipline where her talent could shine on its own. Athletics became the answer — and it changed everything.
A Coach, a Move, and a Maiden Run
Once she switched to running, Hima was spotted by coach Nipon Das, who immediately recognised a rare, untrained ability. He persuaded her family to let her move to Guwahati, where there was proper sporting infrastructure and coaching — a decision that proved pivotal.
What followed was extraordinarily fast progress. Within roughly 18 months of her first competitive race — an inter-district meet in Assam — Hima was competing on the world stage. Few athletes anywhere compress the journey from beginner to world champion into such a short window.
Her coaches made a key strategic call early on: although she had run shorter sprints, they shifted her focus to the 400 metres, betting it gave her the best shot at international success. It was a bet that paid off spectacularly.
The Tampere Moment: India's First World Track Gold
On 12 July 2018, at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, Hima Das stormed the 400m final in 51.46 seconds to take the gold. The significance was historic: no Indian had ever won a gold medal in a track event at a world-level championship.
The image of an emotional 18-year-old draped in the tricolour, singing the national anthem on a European podium, became one of Indian sport's defining modern moments. Overnight, a name from a village few outside Assam had heard of was on front pages across the country.
The gold was no flash in the pan. Just weeks later, at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Hima pushed her limits even further.
The National Record and Asian Games Medals
At Jakarta, Hima clocked 50.79 seconds in the individual 400m — a time that still stands as India's women's 400m national record. She took silver in that individual event, but the relays were where she struck gold.
Her Asian Games haul that year included:
- Gold in the women's 4x400m relay
- Gold in the mixed 4x400m relay
- Silver in the individual 400m
Few Indian athletes have announced themselves on the senior stage so emphatically in a single season. Recognition followed swiftly: on 25 September 2018, she was conferred the Arjuna Award, one of India's highest honours for sportspersons.
Five Golds in Nineteen Days
If 2018 made Hima a star, July 2019 made her a phenomenon. Over a stretch of just 19 days, she won five gold medals at a series of athletics meets across Europe.
The run unfolded mostly over the 200 metres, with golds at events in Poland and the Czech Republic, capped by a 400m victory. The blitz captured the public imagination — a young Indian sprinter racking up wins meet after meet — and cemented her reputation for both versatility and remarkable consistency. The 'Dhing Express' nickname had never felt more apt.
Throughout her career, Hima has navigated the physical toll that comes with elite sprinting, including periods managing injury and form. What has stood out is her refusal to disappear — returning to training, competing, and representing India whenever fit.
More Than an Athlete: Officer and Ambassador
Hima Das's influence extends well beyond the track. In November 2018, UNICEF India named her its first-ever Youth Ambassador, a platform she has used to champion children's rights, education and the message that talent exists everywhere — including in rural India, far from big-city academies.
Her coach has often made exactly that point: that exceptional athletes can be discovered in the villages and small towns of the country if only they are given the chance. Hima is living proof.
In 2021, she fulfilled a childhood dream she had spoken of since her school days, taking oath as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the Assam Police. It was a homecoming of sorts — a return to serve the state that shaped her, while remaining a competing athlete.
Why Her Journey Still Matters
Hima Das matters because she expanded the horizon of belief for Indian track and field, a discipline where global medals have historically been scarce. She showed that a beginner from a farming family in Assam could, in barely two years, become a world champion — and then keep winning.
Her story carries a few enduring lessons that resonate far beyond sport:
- Talent is everywhere — what's often missing is access, coaching and infrastructure.
- The right mentor changes trajectories — Nipon Das's faith and the move to Guwahati were decisive.
- Versatility and resilience compound — from 400m to 200m, from injury setbacks to comebacks, Hima kept adapting.
Today, as a record-holder, an Arjuna awardee, a UNICEF ambassador and a serving police officer, Hima Das stands as one of Northeast India's most prominent public figures. For a generation of young athletes — especially girls from small towns and villages — the Dhing Express remains a vivid, living answer to the question of how far raw talent and determination can travel.
