Tokyo Paralympics: Noida DM Suhas Yathiraj claims silver in badminton
Xtra Time Web Desk: Shuttler Suhas Yathiraj on Sunday scripted history by becoming the first Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. Suhas won silver in badminton men’s singles SL4 category. He lost 21-15, 17-21,15-21 to top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the final.
After taking the opening game 21-15, Yathiraj went down in the second game 17-21. The Indian star did not give up as he kept pushing Mazur who found a way to stay calm and take the gold medal.
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.
Meanwhile, India's Tarun, who had tested Mazur in the semi-final, lost his bronze medal match to Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan in straight games.
