Over the last two months, the riddle of Hima Das is growing to such gargantuan proportions that soon it threatens to turn into some kind of legend. What ails Hima has been the question glued to every lip that follows Indian athletics. Touted as India’s future, suddenly she finds herself out of depth and struggling — something outrageous at her age.
Take her progression chart for instance. 2018: Commonwealth Games, April: 51:32s (sixth); World U-20 Championships,: 51.46s (gold); Asian Games in Jakarta, August: 50.79s (National Record; silver). All in 400m.
When Hima stormed into the limelight at the Commonwealth Games last year, it had only been a year since she put on spikes and first ran on a synthetic surface. By Asian Games, she was a star. However, 2019 has been a disaster so far (see box). She has failed to post a timing below 52s.
Since the Federation Cup in April, Hima has been struggling. Initially, it was blamed on the 45-day break she took for her exams. Later it was an injury. As always, lack of clarity from the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) forced wild speculation. There have been initial talks of issues with training under particular coaches but they were put to rest when her ecstasy of clocking 52:88 to win gold turned into agony as she failed to qualify for the Asian Championships. She broke down and, for the first time, revealed about her back problem. Since then the mystery of her back injury keeps resurfacing. This was partly because of AFI’s refusal to explain the extent of the injury, the kind of medical intervention administered or rehabilitation. There has been silence ever since the 4x400 women’s team started training in Spala, Poland.
Suddenly, almost five months later, the injury has once again been threatening to wreak havoc with Hima’s fledgeling career. Conflicting reports are fuelling speculation. What’s intriguing is, despite nursing an injury, as an AFI official had said, she was allowed to participate in five meets in July and three in August in mediocre events. Now, the injury part has been dismissed by top AFI officials. They are sure she will compete in 4x400 mixed and women’s relay at the Doha Worlds. With September 6 as the deadline for qualification, she is definitely going to miss it.
Hima is a rare raw talent and needs care. Because she comes from a humble background and has turned into a star in a short time, she needs nurturing not just physically but also mentally. Exposure is a double-edged sword. Sometimes it can squeeze the best out of you or crush the last bit of motivation without any remorse.
Indian athletes’ untrammelled loyalty towards their federations, in this case, AFI officialdom, is pretty evident. Their obsequious behaviour stems from their fear of being abandoned. They just abide by what the federation says because to excel internationally, they are the only stepping stones. At 19 years of age when she is struggling, the federation and the ministry should address pertinent issues to preserve her and turn whatever is left in her into something beautiful. Speculation about her future will only scar her psyche. Let the truth be revealed.
