Asian Games gold medallist sprinter Hima Das, who went on a gold-winning spree recently in Europe, has been honoured by the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru. The park has named a six-month-old tiger cub Hima on the eve of the International Tiger Day.
A total of eight tigers were released into the safari area for public viewing, out of which three are male and five are female. On the occasion of International Tiger Day, which falls on July 29, BBP organised a series of sessions to spread awareness about knowing the endangered species.
In India, Karnataka has the highest number of tigers. According to the 2014 tiger census, tiger population in the state is 406.
Other celebrity sportspersons have also been honoured in this manner. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj were honoured as two sloth bears were named after them by the Bannerghatta Rescue Centre.
Many well-known personalities have adopted animals in BBP, including Infosys chairperson Sudha Murty and Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise managing director Ashok Kheny.
The Assamese sprinter's first competitive 200m race win this year came on July 2 when she clocked 23.65 seconds and picked up the gold at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. Her second gold came on July 8 at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland where she again won the 200m race clocking 23.97 seconds. On July 13, she won her third 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in the Czech Republic with a time of 23.43 seconds and her fourth came at the Tabor Athletics Meet where she again won the gold in the 200m category clocking 23.25 seconds.
Finally, her fifth medal came on July 20 in Prague at the Nove Mesto and Metuji Grand Prix as she won the 400m race clocking 52.09 seconds on the clock. The whole of India was awestruck by the 19-year-old's winning run. Celebrities from different spheres of the country and worldwide congratulated her and wished her for the future. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar were among the most eminent names who showered praises on her.
