Tokyo Paralympics: From managing Covid crisis, Noida DM shuttles to history

NOIDA: The last 18 months gave him little time to sharpen his smashes and nuance his drop shots. Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj has had his hands full instead with testing and contact-tracing, vaccinations and oxygen supply — as district magistrate of Noida since last March, he has been at the helm through two waves of the pandemic.
But the international para athlete kept in touch with a game that is a natural gift.On Saturday, the 37-year-old made history after reaching the Paralympic badminton final in Tokyo. Suhas, who will play for gold, is already assured of a silver. Whichever the colour of the metal, he is the first civil servant from India to win one at the Paralympics. “It is a proud and prestigious moment to win a medal for the country in the world’s largest sporting arena,” Suhas told TOI from Tokyo.
Suhas plays France’s Lucas Mazur, the top seed. Ecstatic after his semi-final victory, Suhas called his wife and the two of them screamed in happiness. “We speak before and after every match. Usually, before the match I just wish him luck. Afterwards, we discuss the game. Today he was so happy that both of us just screamed in joy,” Ritu Suhas told TOI.
Suhas played for fun and to keep himself healthy but took up badminton as a serious sport only after 2015. Suhas recalled that it was during an event in Azamgarh, where he was posted as DM, that Dronacharya Awardee Gaurav Khanna motivated him to take up the sport professionally. After watching him play, Khanna told Suhas he had “great legwork”, better than most players he knew. He started practising after this and played his first international match in Turkey in 2016, winning gold.
Currently, Suhas is ranked World No. 3. “2019 was a rollercoaster. He travelled all over the world for several qualifying tournaments. His deformity has never stopped him. He is much fitter than any other person I know,” Ritu said.
Suhas has a birth deformity in his left ankle that impairs his stride. He did not play any international tournament since his Noida posting to manage the Covid crisis. Suhas has served as DM of Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Bulandshahar and Deoria.
More recently, he was principal secretary (medical, health and family welfare). A computer engineer, Suhas is a 2007-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre. Originally from Karnataka, he lives in Noida with his wife, two children, mother and grandmother.