How can Hima Das qualify for the Tokyo Olympics?

She clocked an impressive 22.88 seconds in the 200m sprint, and registered a timing of 43.37 seconds with the 4x100m women's team, but fell well short of the Olympic qualifying standard.

With the Tokyo Olympics qualification period about to end in just over a week, can Hima Das qualify for the quadrennial event?

The answer is yes; she can. How? Read on.

How can Hima Das still qualify for the Tokyo Olympics?

Well, Hima Das can still qualify for the Tokyo Olympics via her performance during the Inter-State National Athletics Championship, which will be held on 25th June 2021.

Let's understand how she can qualify in the 4x100m women's relay first.

There are two ways to qualify for this event. Either qualify through the designated tournament or qualify through the top list, i.e. by surpassing the set qualification standard.

The designated tournaments where Olympic quotas were up for grabs have already been conducted, and the Indian women have failed to seize their chances. This leaves them with just one option – make it through the qualification standard.

The Indian women are currently way off the Olympic qualification standard set in this event, which stands at 43.05 seconds. In fact, Nigeria, the last team in the Road to the Tokyo Rankings which has qualified, has clocked exactly 43.05 seconds. If the Indian women and Hima Das are to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in women's 4x400m, they have to surpass this timing. Even though it looks highly unlikely, it's not impossible either.

Now, let's take a look at her chances in the 200m sprint.

A total of 56 athletes can qualify for the women's 200m sprint in a total of two ways – qualify through the entry standard or through the World Ranking quota.

While Hima Das did come close to the Olympic qualification standard, which is set at 22.80 seconds, today, during the IGP 4, she did fall short. If she has to qualify, she needs to go past this qualification standard when she takes to the track in the inter-state meet.

On the other hand, the world ranking quota depends on the total points accumulated during the qualification period. While Hima Das was nowhere close to this list, mainly because she shifted to 200m pretty late, the rankings have not been updated after her today's run. One can get a clear picture of how things stand for the star sprinter only after the rankings are updated.