Hima says she improved her cooking and painting skills during lockdown

Team Udayavani, May 27, 2020, 1:58 PM IST

For star sprinter, Hima Das, the two months of coronavirus-forced national lockdown was not all about confinement inside her room at NIS-Patiala as she improved her cooking and painting skills besides doing yoga.

All the track and field campers at the NIS were forced to remain indoors since mid-March only to be given go-ahead to train outdoors from Monday, with a focus on fitness without specialized-event training initially.

“Learnt a lot of things during lockdowns like improved my cooking and painting. I did a lot of meditation and yoga. It’s a global lockdown and this was done for our safety,” Hima wrote on her Twitter handle.

Asked if she developed a new skill during the lockdown, she said “cooking”.

“I do Yoga, indoor fitness and meditation daily,” she added.

The 20-year-old world junior quartermile race champion was replying to a Q&A session on Twitter. She said she usually trained for six hours in a day.

Asked how long it will take to find her old rhythm and speed, Hima said, “Since we were out of action for almost 2 months, so I am sure it will take time and also it depends on how our coaches plan training regimes.”

She said the International Olympic Committee had taken the decision to postpone the Tokyo Games to next year by considering the health of all athletes.

Hima also said cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar is her biggest inspiration and her “dream is to win gold in Olympics”.

She said she gave her first salary to her father as she “reached at this stage because of him”.

Talking about challenges of an athlete, she said, “Ups and downs are always part of an athlete’s career. I believe life is all about making a comeback and working towards your goals.

“Facing challenges in life always makes you strong.

“As an athlete it is very important to stay focussed towards your goals and keep working hard. Definitely goal is to win Olympic medal.”