Eyes were filled with tears after hearing national anthem: Hima Das

Bengaluru, July 13: Hima Das raced to history winning gold in the women's 400 metre at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Thursday (July 12).

Hima stopped the clock at 51.46 seconds in the final at the Ratina Stadium and became the first Indian athlete to win a gold in a world championship across all age groups. In the second and third spot came Andrea Miklos (Romania) with 52.07 and Taylor Manson (USA) clocking 52.28. (WATCH HIMA DAS' RUN)

And this is how Him Das became the first Indian woman to win an #IAAFworlds title pic.twitter.com/0Zhx0QuxZI

— IAAF (@iaaforg) July 12, 2018

With this win, Hima Das joined an elite club of Indian athletes who have won medals at the World Under-20 meet. However, Hima is the only runner in this famed line-up that has throwers like Seema Punia (bronze, discus), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (bronze, discus) and Neeraj Chopra (gold, javelin).

Your 51.46 sec dash and years of hard work has paid off, #HimaDas. Many congratulations on winning Gold at the World U20 athletics championship. This is just the beginning of a new era. Many more to come. Keep up the hard work! #GoldenGirl #DreamsComeTrue pic.twitter.com/tL6tqq2hKI

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) July 13, 2018

"I am very happy to win the gold in the World Junior championships. I want to thank all the Indians back home and also those, who were here cheering me. It was very encouraging to have this kind of support," she said.

"Bringing a medal for the country is the biggest achievement and that is why I am very happy. I am very proud to give this gift to the people of India," Hima said as quoted by the NDTV.

"I wanted the Indian national anthem to be played and making that happen made me cry with joy.

Incredible effort from Hima Das for winning gold medal for the country. No words can describe the feelings of this impeccable feat🥇

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) July 13, 2018

"I want to thank my parents and my coaches, who brought me out of Guwahati. I also want to thank the people of India for their blessings.

"I will try to give my best at the Asian Games. I don't run after medals, I run after time," she said.

Congratulating Hima Das, Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla said: "We are very proud of Hima for creating history. It is one of the proudest moments of my life and for Indian athletics. Congratulations to Hima and her coaches, the government and SAI for their support to AFI."

Nipon, Hima Das' coach, said: "I keep telling Hima only one thing: Dream big. Because only a few are blessed with God-given talent. My aim was to try and make sure she is part of the relay team for the Asian Games. But she has surpassed all expectations by winning a world championship gold in the individual event."

Historic moment for #India. #HimaDas proudly clinched a gold🥇 at the #IAAF #World U-20 Championships in the women’s 400m event. Many congratulations Hima.🤗🏃‍♀️🎊🎉
You have made the entire nation proud. God Bless you champion! 🇮🇳👏👏 pic.twitter.com/cQyWZY3bdL

— YAS Ministry (@YASMinistry) July 13, 2018

T 2865 - CONGRATULATIONS .. #HimaDas , the first Indian Women to win a GOLD in World Athletic track event EVER ! INDIA is proud of you .. you have given us reason to hold up our heads HIGH ! JAI HIND !! 🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Q0YVCx6FSf

— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 12, 2018

Yesterday Hima Das won India’s 🇮🇳1st ever World Athletics Gold medal 🥇 at the world u20 in Tampere. The state 📺 channel interrupted Wimbledon go show the race live. Doubtful any world u20 medal has ever had such impact. The sleeping giant may be about to awaken.... pic.twitter.com/KX9myDIIG3

— Pierce O'Callaghan (@Pierceathletics) July 13, 2018