KOLKATA: “I rocked the world while you were sleeping,” said the 18-year-old athlete Hima Das to her father on phone line after bagging the first gold medal for India.

Golden girl Hima broke records after running like the wind in the 400m race at the IAAF World U-20 meet in Finland. She reportedly cried when her father told her “we were all awake to watch you run on television.”

Besides a sports enthusiast, the world-class athlete is a socially conscious teenager who took the lead in demolishing country liquor vends in her village Dhing and its neighborhood. According to her neighbor “She has never scared to speak out against illegal things. Hima is a role model for us and for the country.”

Hima Das wanted to play football for India two year ago. But she made the change at the behest of her teacher Shamshul Shaikh, who was impressed by her speed while playing football, and shifted to athletics.

The incredible story of the feisty girl continued when Nipon Das, one of her two coaches, convinced her parents to let her shift to Dharwad. A local doctor Pratul Sharma helped Hima by raising money for her lodging.

While Nipon Das believes that Hima can win gold at the Asian Games and even break the 50-second mark, Hima is a source of motivation for another coach Ranjit.

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Kalaburagi: The Kalaburagi Bench of the Karnataka High Court has granted the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) permission to hold a guard of honour in Chittapur on Sunday, November 16, under certain conditions.

The Chittapur tahsildar had refused permission for an RSS guard of honour on October 19, citing law and order issues. The order was challenged in court by petitioner Ashok Patil.

Justice MGS Kamal, who heard the case on Thursday, granted conditional permission for the RSS event, with 300 members and a band strength of 50 persons.