The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) yesterday issued an apology for allegedly mocking Hima Das' English on their official Twitter account. After Das won her semi-final in the women's 400 metre event at the IAAF World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, the AFI posted a video with a caption which pointed out to Hima's limited English speaking ability. "#HimaDas speaking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018. Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final!" the AFI had posted.

The post caused an uproar which prompted the federation to issue a clarification: "(We ask) Forgiveness, you have been hurt by one of our TWEET! The real purpose was to show that our runner is not afraid of any difficulty, inside or out of the ground! Regardless of the small village coming from, the speaker exclaimed abroad! Once again sorry for those who are angry, Jai Hind."