Suhas Yathiraj has scripted 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, losing only to top seed and world champion Lucas Mazur of France 21-15, 21-15-21 in the men’s singles SL4 category.
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. Suhas Yathiraj, a Karnataka-born engineer who is currently serving as the District Magistrate of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, stunned the 3-time world championship medalist in straight games.
Yathiraj, currently ranked No. 3 in the SL4 category, had beaten Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in straight games in the semi-final to assure India another medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
In his first year at the international level, he won a gold medal at the Asian Championships in Beijing. Gold medals followed at Japan Open and Turkish Open in the following year as Yathiraj continued allocating time for para-badminton despite his busy schedule as IAS officer.
