Hima Das to miss Tokyo Olympics due to 'untimely injury'; vows to make stronger comeback

In a massive setback for India's athletics contingent, Hima Das on Tuesday announced that she will miss the Tokyo Olympics due to an 'untimely injury'.

Hima Das announced this on her Twitter handle and wrote, "I will miss my first Olympics due to untimely injury when I was close to achieving the qualification standard in my new event 100m and 200m. I would like to thank my coaches, support staff, and my teammates for their continuous support."

Hima Das also promised her fans she will make a strong comeback and now she is eyeing the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and the World Championship which is slated to take place in 2022. Read her statement here -

What Happened To Hima Das?

Earlier, star sprinter Hima Das on Saturday suffered a hamstring injury during the 100m heats at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships, leaving her on the verge of missing out on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Hima, who has had a lower back injury problem for a long time, did not start in the 100m final due to the injury though she qualified for it. She did complete her heat race and finished third with a timing of 12.01 seconds during the morning session. Tamil Nadu's S Dhanalakshmi won the 100m dash at the National Inter-State Championships while national record holder Dutee Chand finished fourth on a day when another star sprinter Hima Das did not start after injuring herself in the heat races. 

"We hope Hima Das recovers ASAP after muscle pull during 100m heats this morning at Inter-State meet," the Athletics Federation of Indian had written on its Twitter handle.

Earlier in 2021, Hima Das - an Arjuna awardee - was appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Assam. Hima Das is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the track event of the IAAF World U20 Championship when she clocked a speed of 51.46 seconds.

AFI names 26-member Indian athletics squad for Games

Meanwhile, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) announced a 26-member squad to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. As per the official press release,  AFI President Adille Sumariwalla said that the federation is looking forward to a good show by the team.  "We are happy that it is a well-prepared team, physically and emotionally, for the Olympic Games. The world has been through a lot and athletes have been challenged to stay in good shape, retain form and in good spirits. We are pleased that our athletes have remained in training ever since the lockdown was lifted," he said.

India's Athletics Squad for Tokyo Games

Men: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); MP Jabir (400m Hurdles): M Sreeshankar (Long Jump); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put); Neeraj Chopra and Shivpal Singh (Javelin Throw); KT Irfan, Sandeep Kumar and Rahul Rohilla (20km Walk) and Gurpreet Singh (50km Walk); 4x400m Relay: Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Anas, Naganathan Pandi, Noah Nirmal Tom; 4x400m Mixed Relay: Sarthak Bhambri, Alex Antony.

Women: Dutee Chand (100m and 200m); Kamalpreet Kaur and Seema Antil-Punia (Discus Throw) and Annu Rani (Javelin Throw); Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami (20km Walk) and (Mixed 4x400m Relay): Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan & Dhanlakshmi Sekhar.

(Image Credits: PTI/AP)