Star sprinter Hima Das is not losing sleep by qualifying for the Olympics as she has included cycling and a little cricket in her “medium intensity” training regimen while taking care to avoid the sweltering summer heat.
Out of competition in the near future due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hima is taking it easy.
“There are no immediate competitions, so we are not doing low level or intense training. We are only doing medium intensity training. Let’s see when we resume our training,” Hima told PTI of NIS Patiala.
“It is very hot here, so we only train in the morning. At night we have free time and I do cycling (at the velodrome) and I even do bowling with cricket balls.
“I try to enjoy life as much as I can. My motto is “be positive and be happy,” added the current junior world champion in 400m.
The pandemic has delayed the Tokyo Olympics by one year and the international season is suspended until November 30.
“I’m not worried about that (qualification for the Olympics), it will only create tension. There is still a year.
Pray first for this pandemic to end quickly. Then the athletics season begins (December 1) and there is plenty of time next year to qualify for the Olympics, ”he said, exactly two years after winning gold at the World Youth Championship in Finland.
#In this day In 2018 Hima Das became the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at a world event.https://t.co/QnVICTSAZS
Hima, 20, known as “Dhing Express”, is the first Indian woman to win a gold in a world championship and holds the national record (50.79 seconds) in 400m.
A lower back injury has been worrying her for some time, leading to speculation that she won’t be able to run 400m in the future and switch to 200m.
When asked, she said, “I am recovering (from the injury). I will do what my coach and the AFI decide. They will decide (which one I will run). ”
When asked if he had fully recovered from the injury, he said: “It is in the process, but I am able to undergo outdoor training and have been doing it for the past 30 to 40 days.”
She won a silver medal in the 400m individual race at the 2018 Asian Games and was part of the gold-winning quartets in the 4x400m relay and women’s 4x400m mixed relay events.
However, Hima suffered an injury during the Asian Games race and retired halfway through the 400m individual race at the Asian Championship in Doha in April last year. She was later removed from the team for the World Championship.
After treatment on his injured back, Hima won six low-grade races in Poland and the Czech Republic in July and August last year. But he ran just one 400m race throughout the past year and four of those five wins came in 200m.
The Indian Athletics Federation has tentatively arranged September 12 to start the national season, but an increase in COVID cases in the country leaves a cloud of uncertainty about it.
When asked if starting the national season in September is feasible, Hima said: “We are training considering the tentative schedule. But, on the other hand, COVID-19 cases are increasing, even in Patiala, and many athletes will have to come (for a national meeting).
“Ultimately, the AFI will make a decision on the matter, taking into account the circumstances.”
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