Suhas Yathiraj has created history by becoming the first Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics. The 38-year-old made the feat special by winning a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Para Games on Sunday, losing only to top seed and world champion Lucas Mazur of France 21-15, 21-15-21 in men’s singles SL4. Category.
Meanwhile, India’s Tarun, who had tested Mazur in the semi-finals, lost the bronze medal match to Indonesia’s Freddy Setiawan in straight games.
Karnataka-born engineer Suhas Yathiraj, currently serving as the District Magistrate of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, stunned the 3-time World Championships medalist in straight games. Suhas looked in complete control against the much-awaited rival, pushing the French baro-badminton star to the limit.
Yetiraj went on to beat the first game 21-15 and lost 17-21 in the second game. The Indian star did not give up as he kept pushing Mazur who found a way to keep calm and claim the gold medal.
However, it was a sight to see Yetiraj dominating the Frenchman and turning to his coach and celebrating the point with such confidence that at one point shocked Mazur.
mark it #Silver Yetiraj is taking home #ParaBadminton #paralympics pic.twitter.com/Zk2hGFxjXn
— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 5, 2021
Yetiraj, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the SL4 category, had beaten Indonesia’s Freddy Setiawan in straight games in the semi-finals to assure India another medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Yetiraj was quick and dominated the rallies, surprising Lucas Mazur. In fact, when the two shuttles met in the group stage, Mazur won the match in straight games. But on Sunday, Yathiraj looked upbeat and was determined to make an opportunity to count in one of the biggest stages of world badminton.
Yetiraj on Saturday gave India their third medal at the Tokyo Paralympic badminton event after winning a gold medal by the great Pramod Bhagat in the men’s singles SL3 category. India’s Manoj Sarkar added to the medal tally by winning bronze in the SL3 category.
Kovid-19 hero becomes Paralympic hero
Yetiraj has been at the forefront of COVID-19 management in Noida’s Gautam Budh Nagar. Having managed his sporting and administrative duties brilliantly over the past 6 years, Yetiraj found ways to continue his training even as he led the COVID-19 management initiative. The 38-year-old had said that he got two hours after work to practice badminton on a daily basis to play in his first Paralympics.
Yetiraj made his professional badminton debut recently in 2016, when he was the district magistrate of Azamgarh district in eastern Uttar Pradesh. It was a tournament that was held there that caught the attention of Yetiraj. After being chosen as the chief guest at the event, Yetiraj wanted to participate in the competition.
Yetiraj trained under current India Para-Badminton coach Gaurav Khanna. In his first year at the international level, he won a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Beijing. The following year won gold medals at Japan Open and Turkish Open as Yathiraj continued to allocate time for para-badminton despite his busy schedule as an IAS officer.