Federation Cup: Hima Das beats Dhanalakshmi in 200m women's final

Star sprinter Hima Das defeated Tamil Nadu's Dhanalakshmi in the 200 metre women's final at the Federation Cup National Senior National Athletics Championships in Patiala on Friday. The sprinter, who hails from the state of Assam, finished the event in 23.21 seconds, while Dhanalakshmi, who stood second, took 23.39 seconds to complete the race. 

Hima, however, failed to qualify for the Olympics as the qualification mark stands at 22.80 seconds.  

Hima Das what a comeback 
TN sprinters bag Silver and Bronze pic.twitter.com/iXaUe8dPtD

— The Indian Badava (@Chella_Badava) March 19, 2021

Hima Das edges out TN's Dhanalakshmi in 200m to deny her a sprint double in the Federation Cup athletics. Hima (23.21s) also betters Dhana's meet record in the process. pic.twitter.com/GOpkDP8O6Y — Santhosh Kumar (@giffy6ty) March 19, 2021

Dhanalakshmi had earlier stunned Dutee Chand in the 100m final in the Federation Cup earlier this week. She also beat Hima in the 200m semifinal heats by running a meet record time of 23.26 seconds on Thursday. Her victory over Hima in the semifinal heats lifted her to the top 10 of Indian all-time list.

Dhanalakshmi's time bettered PT Usha''s long-standing meet record of 22.80 seconds set in Chennai in 1998.  

(with PTI inputs)