18-year-old Hima Das, a pre-tournament favourite, clocked 51.46 seconds to win the gold. Das, from Dhing village in Assam’s Nagaon district, now She joins the illustrious company of star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won a gold in Poland in the last edition in 2016 in a world record effort. In fact, Das is the first Indian track athlete to have won a medal in the history of this competition.

President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated Hima Das. In a tweet, he said: Congratulations to our sensational sprint star Hima Das for winning the 400m gold in the World Under-20 Championship. This is India’s first ever track gold in a World Championship. A very proud moment for Assam and India, Hima; now the Olympic podium beckons!

Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore in a tweet said that Hima Das creates history by winning Gold medal in 400 metre of World U20 Championships. She is 1st Indian athlete to  win Gold in track event of U-20 World Championships. You have made  proud. #NariShakti

Running in lane number 4, Das was behind Romania’s Andrea Miklos at the final bend but produced a stunning burst during the final stretch to cross the finishing line well ahead of the field. She produced her trademark burst at the final 50m. Miklos took the silver in 52.07 while Taylor Manson of USA was third in 52.28.

“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 after the race.