The United Nations Children's Fund-India (Unicef-India) has appointed Asian Games gold-medalist sprinter Hima Das as the country's first ever youth ambassador. The organisation made the announcement in a tweet on Wednesday evening coinciding with Children's Day on November 14.
"Meet our Youth Ambassador, Hima Das! The Asian Games medallist is @UNICEF India's first ever youth ambassador as part of #WorldChildrensDay celebration. #GoBlue," UNICEF wrote. Responding to this, the athlete from Assam said, "I'm honoured to be chosen as Unicef India's Youth Ambassador, and I hope I will be able to inspire more children to follow their dreams."
Hailing from Nagaon district, Hima clinched a gold medal in Women's 4x400 metre relay event at the 2018 Asian Games. She also won a silver in the Women's 400m Race event with a clock timing of 50.59 seconds.
Meet our Youth Ambassador, Hima Das!
The Asian Games medallist is @UNICEF India’s first ever youth ambassador as part of #WorldChildrensDay celebration.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/4WYieI6MhB
— UNICEF India (@UNICEFIndia) November 14, 2018
I’m honoured and grateful to be the first @UNICEFIndia Youth Ambassador. I look forward to encouraging and supporting children to achieve their dreams. Join me and #GoBlue this #ChildrensDay pic.twitter.com/7gpgYCJQni
— Hima Das (@HimaDas8) November 14, 2018
In October, Hima joined Indian Oil Corp as a Grade A HR Officer. Nicknamed the 'Dhing Express', Hima was among the 20 sportspersons to be recommended for the Arjuna Award.
In July, Hima created history by winning the gold medal in the women's 400 metre event at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. She registered a time of 51.46 seconds in the final at the Ratina Stadium to finish top of the podium. She also became the first Indian athlete to achieve this feat in a track event at the IAAF World Athletics Championships. Besides, she is also the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at any athletics meet at the world level.
"I am very happy to win the gold in the World Junior Championships. I want to thank all the Indians back home and also those who were here cheering me. It was very encouraging to have this kind of support," she said after winning the race.
(With inputs from IANS)