Hima Das named in World Championships relay team after triumphant run of form

Arjuna awardee Hima Das, who is also the national record holder for the 400m event, has been selected by the AFI to represent the Indian relay team at the World Championships in Doha. After a remarkable display in July this year, where the 19-year-old has bagged five out of five gold medals in the 200m and 400m events in Poland and Czech Republic, the U-20 World Champion is ready to take on the big stage.

The AFI has reasons to believe that the 4x400m relay teams will perform better than their last outing in the World Relays in Yokohama last May. “We have invested a lot of time in the 400m runners, getting them to train under renowned coach Galina Bukharina. We believe that the squad has been well prepared to deliver the best results on the World stage,” said AFI President Adille J. Sumariwalla on Monday, reported IANS.

The team includes Jinson Johnson, who has improved his own national record in the 1500m twice in recent months. Long jumper M. Sreeshankar, who recently regained form after a heel injury kept him out of the Asian Championships in Doha.

The selection committee is yet to take a call on Neeraj Chopra, who is undergoing a rehabilitation programme, while 400m runner Arokia Rajiv is unavailable due to injury. The names of Dutee Chand (100m women), Archana Suseentran (200m women) and Tejaswin Shankar (high jumper) have been approved and are subject to an invitation from IAAF.