Exclusive: Hima Das keen to inspire Gen Next

Hima Das has been a sensation ever since she became the first Indian athlete to win gold at the IAAF U20 World Championships earlier this year. Even as Hima's brand and presence started getting better, the Assam runner did not let her guards down and made a sensational debut in the Asian Games 2018.

Despite harbouring expectations of a billions of people, Hima won three medals at the Asian Games -- gold in women's 4x400 relay, silver in 400m and silver in mixed 4x400 relay.

Hima has made a journey from running bare feet to having branded shoes with her name on it. She is a rare athlete to feature on the cover of magazine but more than a source of just making her name, she feels these covers might inspire more kids to take up sports and athletics.

"Yes, it feels good. It's like people can get inspired by looking at that as well and more kids will want to enter sports. You know because then parents are like 'see this player, he/she played and made a name. You can also do that'. So this is good for inspiration," Hima told indiatoday.in.