Hima Das dedicates upgraded gold medal to COVID-19 warriors

Ace sprinter Hima Das has dedicated the upgraded gold medal of the mixed relay event at the 2018 Asian Games to the coronavirus warriors, including the police officers and doctors, who are working selflessly amid the pandemic.

"I would like to dedicate my upgraded gold medal of 4x400 mixed relay event of Asian Games 2018 to police, doctors and all other coronawarriors who are working selflessly in these difficult times of COVID-19 to ensure our safety and good health. Respect for all corona warriors," Das said in a tweet.

According to the latest data available on the website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, total number of COVID-19 cases in India has reached 13,36,861 of which 31,388 people have lost their lives while 8,49,432 have recovered. The total number of active cases are 4,56,071 cases. The ministry stated that the recovery rate is 63.53 per cent.

On Thursday, the silver medal that the Indian 4x400 mixed relay quartet of Mohammed Anas, M.R. Poovamma, Das and Arokia Rajiv had won in Jakarta was upgraded to gold. This happened after the Bahrain squad, which finished first in the final, was disqualified with Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain being handed a four-year ban by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for failing a dope test.

India's initial tally of 69 medals at the 2018 Asian Games has thus now improved to 70. The new breakdown of medals for India is now 16 gold, 23 silver and 31 bronze.