Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY receives Arjuna Award

The 38-year-old bagged a silver medal in the final of the men’s singles badminton SL-4 event at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 held on September 5 this year. He also became the first-ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics

District magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar and Paralympics silver-medallist Suhas L Yathiraj was conferred the Arjuna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind at a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind presents the Arjuna Award to Suhas L Y at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Saturday. (Sourced/Twitter)

The Arjuna award is India’s second highest sporting award bestowed by the ministry of youth affairs and sports to sportspersons for their outstanding performance in international as well as national events.

Suhas is one of the 35 athletes in the country, who have been honoured with the award this year. The selection committee of the National Sports Awards had recommended his name for the Arjuna award.

The 38-year-old bagged a silver medal in the final of the men’s singles badminton SL-4 event at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 held on September 5 this year. He also became the first-ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics.

“It is a matter of great pride to receive this award. When I started playing sports professionally and began to represent India at global tournaments, it was my dream to win a medal at the Paralympics and also be bestowed with the Arjuna Award. Destiny has been kind to me as I have achieved both my goals today. I am thankful to the government for honouring me with this award,” said Suhas, who is a 2007 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Suhas’s wife and Ghaziabad’s additional district magistrate Ritu Suhas also accompanied him to the event.

“We are all very proud of his achievements and will always continue to encourage and support him. Since he got back from Tokyo, he has been discharging his duties efficiently and is handling work and attending felicitation events simultaneously,” she said.

Suhas, who took charge as the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar on March 31 last year, was felicitated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at an event held in Meerut on Thursday. Yogi announced a promotion for him along with a cash prize of ₹4 crore for his achievements.

During the event, Adityanath made a special mention of Suhas. “I posted him in Noida during the pandemic. He did exemplary work in controlling Covid-19 and also worked hard on his sports skills to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.”

India won 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, where 54 para-athletes from across nine sports disciplines represented the nation. This was India’s biggest ever contingent to the Paralympic Games.