India's ace sprinter Hima Das was officially appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Assam, on Friday. The Assam government had decided to appoint Hima Das as DSP in the state earlier this month. Assam Police's official Twitter handle posted a video of the ceremony in which Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, DGP, Assam Police, felicitated the star sprinter. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was also present at the ceremony. "Welcome Aboard! Heartiest Congratulations to @HimaDas8 and all 597 newly selected Sub Inspectors of Assam Police. Together, we'll write a new saga of people friendly policing in the State, to serve the citizens of Assam," the video was captioned.
The Assam CM tweeted, saying it is a proud day for the state and Hima Das' appointment will encourage youth of the country to pursue excellence in sports.
"A proud day for Assam. Glad to ceremonially appoint ace athlete @HimaDas8 as Dy SP in @assampolice. An honour for her achievements under the Sports Policy, the appointment will further motivate youths to pursue excellence in sports," Sarbananda Sonowal wrote on Twitter.
Hima Das, in her first competitive race in more than a year, bagged gold at the Indian Grand Prix II in women's 200m event on Thursday. She clocked 23.31 seconds to finish first.
Hima, who is yet to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, had run her last competitive race in August 2019. She had suffered a lower back injury at the 2018 Asian Games and that forced her to miss the World Championships in Doha in September 2019.
After that COVID-19 pandemic struck and the entire domestic calendar was wiped out, no Indian athlete could take part in any event abroad.
(With PTI inputs)