Asian Games Gold medallist sprinter Hima Das who won five gold medals in July this year is now the first-ever youth ambassador of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India. UNICEF made this announcement on its official Twitter handle recently. In her Twitter post, Hima Das said that she was honored to be chosen as the UNICEF India’s Youth Ambassador and hopes to inspire more children to follow their dreams.
UNICEF India and Central Government work together to make sure that every child born in India gets the best start in life so that it can thrive and develop to his or her full potential.
Hima To Amplify Voice Of Children & Young People
Das, a native of Nagaon district Assam won a gold medal in Women’s 4 x 400 m Relay event at the Asian Games last year. She also clinched a silver medal in Women’s 400m Race event timing 50.59 seconds. According to reports, in her new role as an ambassador of UNICEF, Hima will raise the voices of young people and children as active participants in making decisions to ensure their holistic development.
First@unicef india youth ambassador himadas pic.twitter.com/bQCDETlfC4
— జూలకాంటి నాగారాజూ (@NAGAJNR) July 21, 2019
A representative of UNICEF India, Laura Siegrist Fouche said, “Young people are effective champions for the issues which impact them most. Hima is a young athlete, and she can inspire millions of young people to realize their dreams and aspirations. By appointing her as our first-ever Youth Ambassador, we aim to leverage her potential in galvanizing children and adolescents to bring about positive change.”
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 to be chosen as @UNICEF India’s Youth Ambassador, and I hope I will be able to inspire more children to follow their dreams” — Hima Das, Asian Games medallist.#ChildrensDay #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/y259UrVkFS
— UNICEF India (@UNICEFIndia) November 14, 2018
Hima Is Glad To Follow Her Role Model
While expressing her joy at this new appointment, the 19-YO Indian sprinter said, “My role model was Sachin Tendulkar as a kid. I feel very proud that I have been able to follow his footsteps and become a UNICEF ambassador like him. I want for every child, regardless of their background, gender, caste, etc. to be able to access schools that are safe and supportive so that they can learn and thrive.”
After suffering from a back injury in April during the Asian Championships this year, the young Assamese sprinter is now making a comeback. She is being prepared as the medal contender for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the achievement seems to be quite far-off from Hima at present as the competitions in which the Indian has participated until now are ranked quite low on the World Championship ranking points system.
Currently, she is ranked 87th in 400 meters and 122nd in 200 meters.
