Assam govt to appoint Hima Das as DSP, Assam Police

Guwahati: The state government has decided to appoint country’s leading athlete Hima Das as deputy superintendent of police (DSP).

The decision was taken as the state government, in its budget 2020-21 on Friday, has already decided to offer ACS and APS ranks to Asian Games and Olympic medal winners.

The state government has announced to appoint athletes from the state, who will win a medal at the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games, as Grade-I officers such as DSP or magistrate.

Further, a sum of Rs 1,000 crore will be allocated for Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Yojana (SVYEY), which will enable the youth to get actively engaged in various economic activities without leaving their native places.

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In 2019, Hima Das won six gold medals in two months and then she was hit by back injury. Now, in the year of the Olympics, she has shifted her focus from 400m to 200m. This does lower her chances of qualifying for an individual event at the games.

As per an Indian Express report, she will revert to 400m in 2021. Her training, speed and endurance have been affected due to her injury and also a fever which cost her a lot of training time.

Born on January 9, 2000, Hima Das, nicknamed the Dhing Express, is a leading Indian sprinter from Assam. She holds the current Indian national record in 400 metres with a timing of 50.79 s that she clocked at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.