Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, District Magistrate of Gautam Budddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, scripted history as he became the first Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to win a medal at the Paralympics, clinching a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Suhas wins #Silver #IND's Suhas Yathiraj won his nation's 18th medal of the #Paralympics, after #FRA's Lucas Mazur mounted an incredible comeback to win the Men's Singles SL4 final 15-21, 21-17, 21-15! #ParaBadminton #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/aAOPMKj5Bm

— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) September 5, 2021

The Noida DM went down fighting  21-15, 17-21, 15-21 against the top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the men's singles SL4 class badminton final but captured the imagination of the country with his exceptional performance.

Journey From Computer Engineer To An IAS Officer

© Twitter RP Singh

In the final, Suhas gave the two-time world champion a run for his money and clinched the opening game but the Frenchman used all his experience and made an incredible comeback to win the next two games and take home the gold medal.

Suhas Yathiraj, has had a leg impairment since birth, but that didn’t stop him from excelling in any field -- be it studies or sports. He graduated from NIT Karnataka as a computer engineer, that too with a distinction and cracked the UPSC exam in 2007. He served as DM of Prayagraj, Agra, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra districts before being transferred to G.B. Nagar.

Journey From Hobby To Paralympics

© Reuters

The 38-year-old IAS officer always loved playing badminton but never took keen interest and only played the sport as a hobby. However, things changed in 2016, when he was invited as a chief guest to inaugurate a local badminton competition and surprised everyone with his shots.

That very year he won a gold medal in his very first professional competition Asian Championship in Beijing and he has only grown from strength to strength. Next year, he won two gold medals (men’s singles and doubles) in Badminton World Federation Turkish Open Para-Badminton Championships in Antalya and followed it up with a men’s singles silver at Turkish Open in 2018.

© Reuters

He won several silver and bronze medals in various BWF events in Ireland, China, Denmark, Thailand, Uganda, and Japan in 2018 and 2019. The colour of his medal finally changed at the Turkish Open in 2019.

“I was a guest at the inauguration of the tournament and expressed a desire to participate. Until then it was a hobby for me as I had been playing badminton since childhood. I got a chance to play there and defeated state-level players,” Suhas had told reporters before leaving for Tokyo Paralympics, as quoted by Zee News.

Balance Between Duty & Badminton Practice

© Reuters

He knew fulfilling his duties as a DM alongwith badminton practice was never going to be easy but he was ready to go the extra yard. He would finish his administrative duties by 10pm and spend the next two hours learning and fine-tuning his badminton skills for next six years.

“I practice from 10pm for two hours after all the day’s work is over. I have been managing my game and administrative duties this way for around six years now,” he said.

Congratulations Pour In

© Reuters

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to President Ram Nath Kovind, celebrities from all walks of life congratulated the para athlete on his incredible achievement.

PM Modi also rang him to congratulate him on his fantastic performance and “bringing glory to the country”.

A fantastic confluence of service and sports! @dmgbnagar Suhas Yathiraj has captured the imagination of our entire nation thanks to his exceptional sporting performance. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver medal in Badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours. pic.twitter.com/bFM9707VhZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 5, 2021

“A fantastic confluence of service and sports! @dmgbnagar Suhas Yathiraj has captured the imagination of our entire nation thanks to his exceptional sporting performance. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver medal in Badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours,” PM Modi tweeted.

Congratulations to Suhas Yathiraj who gave a tough fight to world #1 and won silver medal in badminton at #Paralympics. Your dedication in pursuing sports while discharging duties as a civil servant is exceptional. Best wishes for a future full of accomplishments.

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 5, 2021

Congratulations to @Krishnanagar99 & @suhasly on winning & respectively in #badminton!

Our performance this year at the #Paralympics has been nothing short of a fairytale & it is just the beginning.

More power to our para athletes! #Praise4Para pic.twitter.com/ypZrrivG0R

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 5, 2021

टोक्यो #Paralympics में @dmgbnagar सुहास एल. वाई. के रजत पदक जीतने पर प्रदेशवासियों की ओर से ढेरों बधाई एवं अनंत शुभकामनाएं। pic.twitter.com/648nLEdaHa

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) September 5, 2021

Superb from @suhasly as he wins a Silver Medal.

The entire nation is proud of you. #Paralympics #Tokyo2020 #Cheer4India #Praise4Para @IndiaSports | @Media_SAI https://t.co/SeKpq9LUvT

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 5, 2021

Indian athletes won a total of 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, including five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals. This is India’s largest ever medal haul in a single edition of the mega event, surpassing the previous best tally of four medals at the 2016 Rio Games.

View the full article