Anti-climax to Hima’s return to track

Blissfully unaware that the Assamese sprinter was cleared by NADA disciplinary panel a few weeks ago, the celebrated former athlete felt the announcer must have got the name wrong.

Bengaluru: When the public address system at the Sree Kanteerava stadium announced Hima Das’ name as a competitor for the women’s 200m race in the Indian Grand Prix-1, a celebrated former athlete couldn’t believe it. Blissfully unaware that the Assamese sprinter was cleared by NADA disciplinary panel a few weeks ago, the former star felt the announcer must have got the name wrong.

“Is it the same Hima Das,” asked the former athlete, who was watching much of the proceedings with great interest. When told it’s the same Hima who was provisionally suspended by the National Anti-Doping Agency last September after missing three whereabouts failures in 12 months before being given the green signal by the disciplinary panel, it took a while for the athlete to process the information.

All this while an oblivious Hima was warming up strongly, seemingly determined to make a strong comeback. But in a span of seconds, it all turned anti-climatic. After a moderate start to the race where she was just behind the leaders, the 24-year-old looked like gathering pace before pulling out at the beginning of the home straight, grimacing in pain and leaving the gathering bewildered.

Hima then was taken by officials for a dope test but the sprinter refused to speak to the media post giving her samples. She just walked away in a hurry, signalling no with her hands, her earphones intact and pulling her floppy cap down.