Hima Das, the world under-20 champion, finished second in the women’s 400m finals at Jakarta and Palembang on Sunday, winning a silver medal at the Asian Games.
The Assamese sprinter in her first appearance at the Games, was unable to defeat Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser, who scorched the field in a time of 50.09 seconds, setting a new Asian Games record as well. Naser, who has run five sub-50 second times this year, duly won her first Asian crown.
For Das, it was another national record, her second in as many days, as she improved her own mark to 50.79 seconds. The Dhing Express, known for her surge over the last 80 metres, started off in her usual fashion but was left with too much to do in the final stretch as Naser’s kick over the last 150 proved devastating.
Nirmala Sheoran came fourth, with a time of 52.96 seconds, well behind her personal best of 51.25 seconds set at the Inter-State Championships in Guwahati earlier this year. Sheoran was unable to catch Elena Mikhina, who won the bronze medal.
Das had also run alongside Naser in the semi-finals and finished second in qualifying for the finals, breaking Manjeet Kaur’s 14-year-old record of 51.05 seconds in the process.
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