GUWAHATI, June 29 - After winning the women�s 200m with a meet record, Assam girl Hima Das today completed double by clinching the gold medal in the 400m with a new meet record timing of 21.13 seconds in the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championship.
On the final day of the four-day championship at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Sarusajai here today. Hima, who was fifth in the heats with a timing of 53.49 seconds yesterday, was in total control on the track and took lead from the start. She pushed behind Nirmala of Haryana (51.25 sec) and Prachi of Uttar Pradesh (52.96 sec) for the second and third spots respectively.
Till date Hima�s best timing was 51.32 second that was in the recently held Commonwealth Games held in Australia.
�I am very happy with my timing. Although 400m is new event for me, I am finding it more comfortable and hopefully will able to improve more in coming days�, said Hima after winning the race.
It is a historic day for Assam athletics as Hima became the only runner of the State to win two events in the senior national athletic championship, that also with a meet record timing. The earlier record of the senior national championship was 51.48 set by Nirmala Sheron of Hyderabad.
She also qualified for the forthcoming Asian Games as the qualifying mark was 52.47.
PTI adds: Top Indian sprinter Dutee Chand today smashed her own national record in women�s 100m dash on the fourth and final day of the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships here to establish herself as a gold medal contender in the upcoming Asian Games.
The 22-year-old Dutee, representing Odisha, clocked 11.29 seconds to shave off one-hundredth of a second from her earlier national record of 11.30 as she scorched the track in the semifinals of the event under good conditions in the morning session at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium here.
She has already breached the Asian Games qualifying time of 11.67 when she clocked 11.42 in one the heats yesterday. She has also qualified for the Asian Games in 200m though 100m dash is her main event.
She later wins the gold in with a timing of 11.32 in the final.
