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Tokyo Paralympics:GB Nagar DM makesUP proud
He has become the second individual from Uttar Pradesh after long jumper Praveen Kumar of Jewar, to finish with a silver medal .
LUCKNOW Success seems to be following Uttar Pradesh sportspersons these days. Just a fortnight ago, it was Varanasi’s Lalit Upadhyay, who as a member of the Indian hockey team won a historical bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and now it’s Suhas Yathiraj, the district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, bagging a silver medal in badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Yathiraj not only became the first civil servant of India to make a podium finish at the Paralympics, where badminton made its debut, but also the second individual from Uttar Pradesh after long jumper Praveen Kumar of Jewar, who finished with a silver medal a few days ago. Now, both are entitled to get ₹4 crore each as per the state government’s policy.
All eyes were on Yathiraj on Sunday as soon as he stepped on to the court against World No 1 Lucas Mazur of France in the men’s singles SL4 category. From the very start, the 62-minute duel witnessed a ding-dong battle with Yathiraj winning the first game before Mazur levelling the match by winning the second game.
The two produced their best and at times it was tough to pick out the winner, especially when the scoreboard read 1-all. But in the decider, Lucas continued his brilliant run to win the gold medal. Yathiraj should be incredibly proud of his effort as he became the fourth Indian para-shuttler to win a medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Yathiraj, who remained committed to his responsibilities, including the handling of tough situations during the pandemic-induced lockdown, has been an inspiration to many Indians, playing badminton in school to becoming an IAS officer and now a Paralympics medallist.
Yathiraj, who hails from Karnataka and became an IAS officer in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, has impairment in one of his ankles. His parents always stood by him and made sure that the “disability” never became in an obstacle in his life and supported him to play in inter-school tournaments.
But things changed dramatically when being the district magistrate of Azamgarh, he was inspired to take up the sport professionally by the para-badminton coach Gaurav Khanna in 2016. This completely changed his life.
In the same year, Yathiraj made his mark on the international stage, becoming the first civil servant to win a gold medal at the Asian Para-Badminton Championship in Beijing, and owing to his success, he was given the award of ‘Best Para Sportsperson’ by the Uttar Pradesh government on World Disability Day.
“Very emotional (moment). I have never been so happy and so disappointed in my life at the same time. Most happy because of the silver medal but most disappointed because I missed the gold medal by a whisker,” he said in a video message posted by the Paralympic Committee of India. “But destiny gives what I deserve and probably I deserved silver medal, so I am happy for that at least.”
As expected, congratulatory messages started pouring in for him. “A fantastic confluence of service and sports! @dmgbnagar Suhas Yathiraj has captured the imagination of our entire nation, thanks to his exceptional sporting performance.
Congratulations to him on winning the silver medal in badminton. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours,” PM Modi tweeted.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath too congratulated Yathirak on his success, whereas the IAS Association tweeted: “You won our heart!!! Entire nation is proud of you, Suhas L Y, #IAS DM NOIDA @dmgbnagar for winning #Silver in SL4 #Parabadminton #Cheer4Suhas #cheers4india #Praise4Para.”
