Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj (born 2 July 1983) is an Arjuna awardee Indian professional Para-Badminton player currently ranked world No.2 in men's singles and silver medalist in SL-4 category in Tokyo Paralympics 2021. Suhas is also an IAS officer of the 2007 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre, he has also served as District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar & Prayagraj. He became National Champion after winning gold medal in Men's Singles category at second National Para Badminton Championships held at Varanasi in March 2018. He is also an engineer who graduated from National Institute of Technology. He is the only IAS officer in India to win a Paralympic medal and an Arjuna Award.
| Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 July 1983 Hassan, Karnataka, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 61 kg (134 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Handedness | Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Gaurav Khanna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Men's singles SL4 Men's doubles SL3–SL4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 3 (MS 25 February 2020) 7 (MD with Umesh Vikram Kumar 24 October 2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 17 (MS) 12 (MD with Umesh Vikram Kumar) (8 November 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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At the 2016 Asian Para Badminton Championships, Beijing, China, he became the first Indian bureaucrat to win a professional International Badminton Championship. He won gold beating Hary Susanto of Indonesia in the finals when he was serving as District Magistrate of Azamgarh. He came to International attention when he won gold and became first ever serving Indian bureaucrat to represent and win a medal for India at global level.
In December, 2016, he became the recipient of Uttar Pradesh's highest civilian honor, the Yash Bharti, which he received on 1 December 2016 from the erstwhile Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav. On 3 December, World Disabilities Day, he received award from the state government for his performances in para sports. He also holds distinctive record for winning many awards while serving in his official capacity. He has been awarded for his performances by Governor of Uttar Pradesh for his duties related to elections, by Revenue Minister and Chairman, Board of Revenue for duties regarding revenue administration. Suhas is also supported by GoSports Foundation through the Para Champions Programme.
Since his appointment in February 2023, he is serving as the Secretary and Director General of Youth Welfare and Prantiya Rakshak Dal, a department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh.