It is for the first time that a civil servant from India is winning millions of hearts by his excellent performance in the Tokyo paralympics. Mr. Suhas L. Yathiraj, the district magistrate of Noida district and a professional para badminton player defeated Germany’s Jan Niklas Pott by 21/9 and 21/3 in men’s singles SL- 4 group A match on Thursday.
He played the match like it was just a cakewalk for him and in just 19 minutes the match was won by Mr. Yathiraj. His second group stage match is scheduled to be held on Friday. He is currently ranked world number 2 in men’s singles and is an IAS officer of 2007 batch from UP cadre. Currently posted as the DC, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Mr. Yathiraj has also served in districts like Prayagraj and Azamgarh. He is the only bureaucrat to represent & win medal for India on a global level. He won the Asian Para Badminton Championships held in Beijing, China in 2016. For his contribution in sports the officer has been honoured by Yash Bharti, Uttar Pradesh’s highest civilian honor.
The Tokyo Paralympics started on 24 August 2021 and will end on 5 September 2021. India is 36th among other countries with 2 Gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals till now.