Tokyo Paralympics: History beckons Suhas Yathiraj as IAS officer one win away from clinching gold in badminton
Xtra Time Web Desk: History beckons Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Suhas Yathiraj when he steps into the court for the badminton finals at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday. The 38 year old district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) is the first ever IAS officer of the country to be guaranteed a medal at the Paralympics.
Suhas, currently world No.3 in SL4 category, outplayed Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan 21-9 21-15 in 31 minutes in the first semifinal. The 2007-batch IAS officer, with a leg impairment, will face top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the final on Sunday.
Suhas, who graduated as computer engineer from NIT Karnataka with a distinction, has previously served as the district magistrate of Prayagraj, Agra, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra districts.
For the last one and a half years, he had been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic management in Gautam Buddh Nagar since his appointment in the western UP district on March 30, 2020.
In 2016 itself, he participated in the Asian Championship in Beijing and become the first non-ranked player to win the gold medal.
More international recognition was awaiting him as he went on to win medals at BWF Turkish championship in 2017 and 2019 besides the latest, a gold, in Brazil in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic started ravaging India and world.
Courtesy: PTI
