Union Sports and Youth Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju had words of encouragement for Indian sprinter Hima Das, who failed to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after sustaining a hamstring injury.
Taking to his official Twitter account, Rijiju urged Hima to not lose heart and focus on recovery to prepare for the tournaments ahead.
"Injuries are part & parcel of athlete's life. I spoke to @HimaDas8 and told her not to lose heart on missing the Olympics #Tokyo2020 and prepare for 2022 Asian Games, 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2024 Paris Olympics!" wrote Rijiju.
Hima faced the injury during the National Inter-State Athletics Championships. Despite the injury, she participated in the 200m event but finished beyond the qualification mark.
She also participated in women's 4x100m event.
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has already qualified for the Olympics on the virtue of her world ranking. She is 44th in the 100m rankings and 51st in the 200m rankings; both of which were within the qualification ranks for the Olympics.
