The Paralympic dream that started at Mussoorie IAS academy

Her joy and excitement knew no bounds when her son Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj clinched a historic silver at Tokyo Paralympics. Ranked number 2 in the world, Suhas went fighting against top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the men’s singles SL4 class final on Sunday.

Jayashree C S, mother of Suhas, shared her joy with DH from Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida, UP), where her son is a district magistrate. A beaming Jayashree said that her son might have failed in the gold medal match, but he won the hearts of millions with his never-say-die attitude. “I am confident that his feat would inspire many with physical disabilities. He might have lost the final match but conquered the hearts of millions through his fighting spirit. This is more important than the gold medal,” she said.

Taking a trip down memory lane, Jayashree said, “Suhas was good in academics and sports as well. Though he has a birth deformity in his left ankle, but it never stopped him from scaling heights in his chosen fields. He used to play cricket very well with able bodies during his childhood days in Shivamogga.”

Read | Never been so happy and disappointed at the same time in my life, says Paralympic silver winner Suhas Yathiraj

However, Suhas took to badminton seriously after Gourav Khanna, a coach, spotted his talent during his IAS training days in Mussoorie in Uttarakhand and asked him to practice everyday. That’s when he made up his mind to win a Paralympic medal. He chased his Paralympic dream putting in extra effort. His hard work, perseverance, dedication and a bit of luck earned him the Paralympic glory, a proud Jayashree told DH.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction with Suhas made me very proud. So, I have no regrets that he did not win the gold, but his performance in the final was worth its weight in gold.”

A right-hand batsman and a medium pacer, Suhas was good at cricket during his school days.

Yogish, Suhas’ childhood friend in Shivamogga, vouches for it.

“We never felt that he has physical disability. He was good in studies and sports, cricket in particular. We used to fondly call him Prasadi. We are glad that he won silver medal in Paralympics,” Yogish said.