Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Sep 5: Suhas L Yathiraj, a native of Hassan district and an IAS officer has made the state and country proud by winning silver at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Yathiraj went down fighting to France's world number 1 Lucas Mazur in three well-fought games in the final of the men's singles SL4 class and had to be satisfied with the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games here on Sunday September 5.
Yathiraj stunned the Frenchman, the three-time World Champion, in the first game and had handy leads in the second and third games but Mazur is too experienced and too skilled and fought back from a game down to win 15-21, 21-17, 21-15 in just over an hour to win the gold medal.
But Mazur, who was trailing 12-15 at one time in the second game, took control of the proceedings and mixed brilliant overhead smashes and deceptive placements with deft touches at the net to win nine of the next 11 points to bag the second game 21-17.
Yathiraj held a slight advantage in the third and deciding game and was leading at the midway stage. But Mazur fought back again and levelled scores at 13-13 before winning the game, match, and gold medal at 21.15.
Yathiraj, who is native of Lalanakere in Hassan, is presently serving as deputy commissioner in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He is the first IAS officer of India who has won a medal in Paralympics. His achievements in sports as well as administration is lauded by all. Yathiraj had practised mostly in the nights after work to prepare for the Paralympics, played aggressively and at great pace to unsettle the seasoned French star.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Suhas through a tweet and appreciated his achievements in both service and sports. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath also extended his wishes to Suhas through Twitter. "A fantastic confluence of service and sports! 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," the PM tweeted.
The total number of medals for India, including the silver won by Suhas has shot upto 18. This includes four golds, eight silvers and six bronze medals.
With IANS inputs