Tokyo 2020: After Pandemic Duty, IAS Officer Cum Shuttler Suhas L Yathiraj Gears Up For Paralympics | Olympics News
He has been a busy bureaucrat fighting the COVID-19 menace in the National Capital Region being Noida’s District Magistrate but Suhas L Yathiraj has not let his demanding job affect his preparations for the Para-Badminton event at the Tokyo Paralympics, starting August 24. A look at Yathiraj’s official twitter handle — @dmgbnagar — shows that for the last 16 months it has been dedicated to dissemination of COVID-19-relayed information. The young DM, who is an Asian Para-Badminton gold and bronze medallist, will now be practising extra hours to bring glory to the country.
“Being the DM of Noida, it was a very challenging time during the pandemic. But I never gave up on my training and devoted all my focus and time into it,” said Yathiraj, an IAS officer of UP cadre and former DM of Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad).
“I am very much confident to clinch a medal at Tokyo 2020.”
The bureaucrat along with Manoj Sarkar on Friday qualified after the game’s governing body BWF granted two bipartite quotas to India, making it a seven-member contingent at the Tokyo Games. Yathiraj has been granted the quota in men’s singles SL4, while Sarkar has made the cut in men’s singles SL3, and will be joining the team led by world number one Pramod Bhagat.
The addition of the two para shuttlers also boosted India’s medal prospects in the two men’s singles categories. India already has Bhagat in men’s singles SL3 and Tarun Dhillon in men’s singles SL4 events.
