Suhas L Yathiraj dedicates Tokyo Paralympics silver medal to his late father

Para badminton player Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj on Sunday dedicated the silver medal he won at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in SL4 class to his late father who had always dreamed of him excelling in his career as well as in sportsI remember my late father because of whom I stand here and I got my medal There are a lot of people I wish I remember and I thank because of who I am here I could deliver on big occasions Extremely happy and proud moment Yethiraj was quoted as saying in a video posted by the Paralympic Committee of IndiaYethiraj a Computer Engineering graduate from National Institute of Technology Suratkal Karnataka and who is currently posted as the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh said winning this medal means the world to himFor any sportsperson there is no higher achievement than winning a medal in the Olympics or Paralympics So this medal means the world to me he saidYathiraj who has an impairment to one of his ankles said he never allowed the impairment to stop him from following his dreamI never saw myself with the impairment and I owe this mindset to my parents I was not given any special treatment since the beginning My parents made me play with schoolmates and allowed me to participate in interschool races which many parents of special needs children didnt I also think that like most good things stigma too begins at home All the strength to lead a proper life begins at home he once told the mediaYathiraj who mostly practices badminton after work from 830 pm till midnight daily started playing badminton seriously in 2012I played badminton at school level and it was my favourite pastime in the civil services academy Some of my colleagues lauded me for the way I played and suggested that I should take it up professionally My wife Ritu also thought the same so I went ahead My interest started in 2012 the deformity in my ankle forced me to play sports more and stay more active It was then I came to know about Para badminton and it has been upwards from thereIt was because of his fathers dream that Yathiraj appeared for the Civil ServicesIn 2007 he began working at the Indian Administrative Service IAS in Uttar Pradesh cadre In 2020 he was appointed district magistrate of Gautam Buddh NagarI was enjoying myself working as a software engineer in SAP Labs India Worked in Bengaluru Bangkok and Germany for the company But my fathers death in 2005 brought me home and reminded me of his wish to see me as an IAS officerPursuing badminton is a balancing act for Yathiraj as he can devote time to it only after completing his duties as an IAS officer But the 38yearold has managed that admirably well so farYathiraj has won bronze in Team Standing SL3SU5 at the Asian Para Games Jakarta in 2018 and gold in Mens Singles at Asian Para Badminton Championship 2016 He has thus far won five gold four silver and seven bronze medals in other international competitionsBut the silver medal that he won on Sunday tops them all and will be a motivation for him to continue pursuing parabadminton for some more yearsAlso Read Historic heroesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever