There's bad news from Hima Das’ quarters. The star sprinter might be on the brink of missing out on Tokyo Olympics qualification after suffering a hamstring injury during the 100m heats at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala on Saturday.

Das, who struggled with a lower back injury for a long time, did not start in the 100m final, though she qualified for it. She did complete her heat race and finished third with a timing of 12.01 seconds during the morning session. “We hope Hima Das recovers ASAP after muscle pull during 100m heats this morning at Inter-State meet," the Athletics Federation of Indian wrote on its Twitter handle.

What we know about her injury

The severity of her injury could not be ascertained officially, but it is learnt that the Assam athlete is highly unlikely to run the 200m race scheduled on Sunday as well as the women's 4x100m relay final on June 29. She had run her personal best of 20.88 seconds in 200m at the Indian Grand Prix 4 but missed the automatic qualification mark of 20.80 seconds.

The weight Hima Das carries

Hima’s injury is also a big blow to the 4x100m women's relay team's qualification bid for the Tokyo Games as she is a vital member of the quartet comprising Dutee Chand, S Dhanalakshmi and Archana Suseendran. The ongoing meet is the last chance for the Indian athletes to qualify for Tokyo Olympics which begins on July 23. The 21-year-old is called the ‘Dhing Express’ and hails from Assam. She became India's fastest-ever female in the 400m category at the 2018 Asain Games in Jakarta, clocking 50.79 to win a silver medal when she was only 18 years old.

Top Cop

In February 2021, Das was inducted as Deputy Superintendent of Police in Assam, which was also a dream come true for the sprinter. “People here know and I am not going to say anything different. Since my early school days, I harboured a wish to become a police officer one day and my mother also wished that," she was quoted as saying by India Today after the ceremony. Das has also won India the first-ever gold medal in track events at the IAAF World U20 Championships, clocking 51.46 seconds in the 400m category. This feat made her the first-ever Indian to win a medal at the World Junior Championship.

The Adidas sponsorship

Das was conferred with the Arjuna Award by the President of India on September 25, 2018. And in the same month, she signed an endorsement deal with Adidas, which meant she could access the latest offerings from the German giant’s stable. A couple of years later, Das looked back on her days of struggle and said, “When I started running, I ran barefoot. But in my first Nationals, my father brought running shoes with spikes on them. It was just a normal pair of running shoes. I wrote ‘Adidas’ on the shoes with my hand. You never know what fate can do, Adidas is now making shoes with my name.”

In 2019, Das won five gold medals in a span of 19 days. Here’s a quick look at her glittering golds two years ago:

July 2: 200m gold in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland

July 7: 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland

July 13: 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic

July 17: 200m race at Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic

July 20: 400-metre event in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic