From IAS Officer To World-Class Parashuttler: Meet Suhas Yathiraj After His Bittersweet Silver At Paris Paralympics

“Winning the silver is a mixed feeling, there is sadness and disappointment of missing the gold,” said Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, the Indian para-badminton player after clinching the silver medal in the SL4 category at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

This statement of reserved celebration for not getting the ‘top spot’ reflects his illustrious journey as a sportsperson, an IAS officer, and an NIT graduate.

Born in Hassan, Karnataka, Suhas was diagnosed with a congenital disability in his left ankle which impacted his mobility. However, this did not impair his academic and sporting exploits. Suhas graduated in Computer Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Surathkal.

Later he cleared the Civil Services Examination and joined the Uttar Pradesh cadre as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in 2007. The 41-year-old IAS officer has served in various key positions, including District Magistrate (DM) of Gautam Buddha Nagar and Prayagraj.

Currently, he serves as the Secretary and Director General of Youth Welfare and Prantiya Rakshak Dal, Government of Uttar Pradesh. In 2016, as the DM of Azamgarh, Suhas was shortlisted for the Prime Minister's award for exemplary work in PM Jan Dhan Yojna. His wife is also an officer in the state administrative service.

Despite a late start to his sporting career, he quickly rose as one of India’s ace para-shuttlers. He emerged on the global para-badminton scene by winning a gold medal at the 2016 Asian Para-Badminton Championships. This was followed by twin gold medals in men’s singles and men’s doubles at the BWF Para-Badminton Championship in 2017.

However, it was his performance at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics that catapulted Suhas to national fame. Suhas won the silver medal in the men's singles SL4 category, narrowly losing to France’s Lucas Mazur. This intense rivalry continued into the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where Suhas faced Mazur again in the final.

After winning the 2024 World Championship, Suhas entered the Paris 2024 Paralympics as the world’s top-ranked para-shuttler and was expected to win gold in the men's singles SL4 category. But he had to settle for a silver medal after a 9-21, 13-21 defeat in the finals against his French rival Mazur.

“Coming here as world no. 1 and as world champion, there was pressure and expectations on me. I too expected that I would do well here. Ideally, I would have liked to win a gold medal, which is every player's dream” he remarked.

While he fell short of the gold, Suhas made history by becoming the first Indian para-shuttler to win multiple medals at the Paralympic Games. He is also the first and only serving IAS officer to win a Paralympic medal. In addition to being bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 2021, he was also presented with Uttar Pradesh's highest civilian honour, the Yash Bharti.

His other sporting achievements include:

• Asian Para Games (2018) – Bronze Medal in Men’s Singles, Bronze Medal in Men’s Team

• Asian Para Games (2022) – Gold Medal in Men’s Singles

• Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games – Gold Medal in Men’s Singles

• Bahrain Para Badminton International 2023 – Silver Medal in Men’s Singles

• Thailand Para Badminton International 2023 – Gold Medal in Men’s Singles

• Spanish Para Badminton International 2023 – Bronze Medal in Men’s Singles

• World Championship (2024) – Gold Medal in Men’s Singles

While expressing his bittersweet feelings on missing the gold, Suhas adds, “When the feeling sinks in then you will realise qualifying for Paralympics and representing your country was a big thing… and winning the silver is a proud moment and I feel extremely humbled and grateful."

Suhas refers to Tokyo 2020 as a “watershed moment” for Indian para sports and Indian Olympic sports in general, “everyone knows cricket is popular in India but in the last many years, the way Olympic sports and Paralympics sports have received support from the society is unimaginable… in the coming years it will only grow and that will improve our medal tally as well.”