Suhas Yathiraj, a 2007 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre has stormed into the men's singles finals of Badminton at the Paris Paralympic. With this he inched closer to his maiden gold medals in SL4 category.
Suhas, a silver medallist from the Tokyo Games, secured his place in the final after defeating compatriot Sukant Kadam 21-17, 21-12 .
With this win, Suhas is set to become the first Indian shuttler to achieve back-to-back Paralympic medals. He will now face France's Lucas Mazur in the final, aiming to avenge his loss to Mazur in the Tokyo Paralympics final three years ago.
A graduate from National Institute of Technology (NIT), he is the only IAS officer in India to have won Paralympic media and an Arjuna Award.
Who is Suhas Yathiraj?
Suhas Yathiraj is currently serving as secretary sports and youth welfare. He is also Director General of Youth Welfare and Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) with Uttar Pradesh government. He is a native of Hassan in Karnataka.
Earlier he had served as collector of districts including Maharajganj, Hathras, Sonbhadra, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Prayagraj and Gautam Buddha Nagar.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.