Hima Das, who won the gold medal in the 400m and the women’s 4X400 m relay in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarata, has complained about the poor quality of food served at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NS NIS) in Patiala. According to media reports, Hima Das and several athletes pointed out the poor quality, with Hima Das even clicking photos and sending it out to the NIS higher authorities. According to media reports, Hima Das has also taken up the matter with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju.
The Hima Das complaint on food comes at a time when Sports Authority of India (SAI) are already grappling with the coronavirus social distancing breaching by two boxers. The incident took place in July 2020 when the boxers stirred up a storm by “unintentionally” breaking COVID-19 quarantine protocol.
The boxers and coaches, including world silver medallist and top Olympic medal contender Amit Panghal, have been in isolation at the NIS facility in Patiala after testing negative for COVID-19 following a third round of testing. “For the time being, there will be no sparring and no access to the ring as mentioned in the SAI SOP (standard operating procedure),” said a boxing coach at that time.
Recently, Hima Das was named in a 73-member committee that would work towards the framing and implementation of education policy in Assam.
A couple of weeks back, Hima Das and table tennis champ, Manika Batra came out in support of their domestic helps and workers, who have been affected by the Coronavirus-caused lockdown.
"In these tough times, we should all stand together to help those who always help us, like cooks, delivery boys, drivers and others. Through this initiative, I will make them aware of the various government schemes that will benefit them," said Hima.