My pictures on magazine covers might inspire kids to take up sports: Hima Das

Hima Das has sprinted her way to success and she doesn't want to stop anytime soon. She spoke to indiatoday.in on a range of issues in Patiala.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Hima Das is the first Indian athlete to win gold in IAAF U20 World Championships
• Hima Das didn't know she would get so much recognition for her gold till her phone began ringing
• Hima Das is determined to improve her timing every time she runs

She has made it to the top as fast as her gold-winning sprint in Finland earlier this year!

Hima Das has been creating ripples ever since she became the first Indian athlete to win gold at the IAAF U20 World Championships. It has been a graph that has only gone up with her face popping up on boards all over the country.

Magazine covers, brand endorsements and all the big market madness has just fallen into the sprinting feet of Hima Das.

She is well aware of the brand she carries with herself now but it was not something she thought of until her phone began buzzing as she created history in Tampere.

"I didn't think of it [that many people will know me] before but after the [U20 World Championships] medal, when people started calling and messaging then I understood," Hima Das told indiatoday.in during an interaction at National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala.

Her reception at the airport in Assam after she returned from the Asian Games was nothing short of magnificent. A track was laid out for her in celebration of her brilliant performances in Jakarta.

Hima has made a journey from running bare feet to having branded shoes with her name on it. She is a rare athlete to feature on the cover of magazine but more than a source of just making her name, she feels these covers might inspire more kids to take up sports and athletics.

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