Hima Das will miss Asian Games, confirms national chief coach Nair; gives update on Neeraj Chopra's injury

In some heartbreaking news for fans of Indian athletics, national chief coach Radhakrishna Nair on Wednesday confirmed that star sprinter Hima Das will miss the next Asian Games in China due to a hamstring injury received in April.

At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, the 23-year-old Hima took home silver in the 400-meter individual race. She also competed in Jakarta's women's and mixed 4x400-meter relay teams, which won gold and silver.

"It is unfortunate she (Hima) was injured a day before the Indian Grand Prix IV in Bengaluru (on April 15). She pulled a hamstring and also had back problem. Now, medical investigation is going on and planning for treatment. I believe that she will not be able to participate in the Asian Games as per the policy of the AFI," Nair confirmed.

Hima missed the Federation Cup in Ranchi last month as well because of the ailment, and Nair later told PTI that the federation hoped she would be healthy enough to compete in the National Inter-State Championship, which is the last chance to be selected for the Hangzhou Asian Games.

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All athletes, with the exception of those granted an exemption, must compete in the National Inter-State Championship, which gets underway here on Thursday, in order to be considered for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which are set to take place from September 23 to October 8.

Neeraj Chopra, a master javelin thrower, and Avinash Sable, a 3000m steeplechase silver medalist for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, were excluded from the five-day tournament, which is the last Asian Games selection event.

The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) will conduct "In Competition" (IC) testing at the Kalinga Stadium, according to Nair.

"I am 100 per cent sure that NADA officials are coming. They could be from Kolkata or some from Delhi also. During the Federation Cup in Ranchi (last month), there was a team of 7-8 officials. Now, NADA is very strict, they are appointing so many officials, so they would be coming here also," Nair said during a rare pre championship press conference.

He added that Olympic champion Chopra, who withdrew from two prestigious competitions -- the FBK Games in the Netherlands and the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland -- after suffering a muscular strain last month, has resumed training but has not yet fully recovered.

"He (Neeraj) has started his training last week and should be in good health by the end of this month," Nair said.