India sprinter Hima Das has been ruled out of the upcoming World Championships with a back injury, Athletics Federation of India confirmed on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, 400m athlete Hima Das will not compete at the World Championships in Doha due to a back injury,” read a statement from AFI.
Das has been suffering from lower back pain after the Asian Games last year. She pulled out of the individual 400m heats during the Asian Championships in Doha in April midway through the race.
The World junior champion’s participation in the World Championships relay events became a matter of intense speculation after she was left out of the initial entries.
The AFI had earlier named seven women, including Das, for the 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay races. Jisna Mathew, MR Poovamma, Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan, VK Vismaya and Ramraj Vithya were enlisted for the women’s 4x400m relay, while Das’s name was missing.