Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj

Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj (born 2 July 1983) is an Indian para-badminton player and IAS officer who is currently ranked World No. 1 in men's singles and has won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 games thus becoming the only Indian para-badminton player to win back to back medals at the Games.

Yathiraj is also an IAS officer of the 2007 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre, and has served as District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar & Prayagraj. He won the gold medal at the National Para Badminton Championships in 2018. He is also an engineer who graduated from National Institute of Technology, Surathkal. He is the only IAS officer in India to win a Paralympic medal and an Arjuna Award.

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.

Early life and education Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj was born to Yathiraj L K(late) and Jayashree C S in Hassan, Karnataka. Sibling : Sharath L Y, His early schooling happened in Dudda near Hassan district. Since his father was a government servant, he had to travel and move with father during his postings at different places. He did most of his secondary education in DVS independent college Shivamogga, Karnataka.

Posts held Position Place Tenure Probationer Agra 1 year Joint Magistrate Azamgarh 1 year 3 months Chief Development Officer Mathura 4 months District Magistrate Maharajganj 3 months District Magistrate Hathras 10 months District Magistrate Sonbhadra 3 months District Magistrate Jaunpur 2 years 3 months District Magistrate Azamgarh 1 year 11 months District MagistratePrayagraj 1 year 4 months District MagistrateGautam Buddha NagarIncumbent

Personal life Suhas is married to Ritu Suhas, who got selected as Mrs U.P in Mrs. India 2019 contest a PCS officer currently posted as ADM (Administration) in Ghaziabad. His daughter Saanvi is 13 years old and son Vivaan is 9 years old. His wife has also been awarded for excellent work in voter awareness in general elections.

Achievements Paralympic Games Men's singles SL4

World Championships Men's singles SL4 Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2024 Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Hall, Pattaya, Thailand Fredy Setiawan 21–18, 21–18 Gold Gold

Asian Para Games

Men's singles SL4 Year Venue Opponent Score Result 2022 Binjiang Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China Mohd Amin Burhanuddin 13–21, 21–18, 21–9 Gold Gold

Asian Championships Men's singles SL4

BWF Para Badminton World Circuit (1 title, 4 runners-up) The BWF Para Badminton World Circuit – Grade 2, Level 1, 2 and 3 tournaments has been sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation from 2022.

Men's singles SL4 Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result 2023 Thailand Para-Badminton International Level 2 Sukant Kadam 21–14, 17–21, 21–11 Winner 2023 Bahrain Para-Badminton International Level 2 Mohd Amin Burhanuddin 21–16, 21–23, 17–21 Runner-up 2023 Dubai Para-Badminton International Level 1 Mohd Amin Burhanuddin 13–21, 16–21 Runner-up 2024 Spanish Para-Badminton International I Level 1 Lucas Mazur 18–21, 6–21 Runner-up 2024 4 Nations Para-Badminton International Level 1 Lucas Mazur 7–21, 11–21 Runner-up

International tournaments (2011–2021) (4 titles, 5 runners-up) Men's singles SL4 Year Tournament Opponent Score Result 2017 Turkish Para-Badminton International Sukant Kadam 21–16, 21–10 Winner 2017 Japan Para-Badminton International Lucas Mazur 14–21, 21–14, 15–21 Runner-up 2018 Turkish Para-Badminton International Lucas Mazur 10–21, 19–21 Runner-up 2019 Turkish Para-Badminton International Lucas Mazur 21–16, 22–20 Winner 2019 Irish Para-Badminton International Lucas Mazur 19–21, 17–21 Runner-up 2020 Brazil Para-Badminton International Lucas Mazur 9–21, 21–16, 21–19 Winner 2020 Peru Para-Badminton International Sukant Kadam 21–19, 21–16 Winner Men's doubles SL3–SL4 Year TournamentPartner Opponent Score Result 2019 China Para-Badminton International Umesh Vikram Kumar Pramod Bhagat Manoj Sarkar 21–18, 16–21, 15–21 Runner-up 2019 Denmark Para-Badminton International Umesh Vikram Kumar Mongkhon Bunsun Siripong Teamarrom 21–14, 8–21, 12–21 Runner-up

Awards and recognition

In sports Awarded Arjuna Award (2nd Highest Sport Award after Khel Ratna) (2021) Yash Bharti, highest civilian honour of UP. (2016)

In administration In 2016, he received Yash Bharti, UP's highest civilian award. Developed Mobile Application for Kuposhan ka Darpan and Pregnancy ka Darpan, to help undernourished children and pregnant mothers Developed Mobile Application for helping differently abled voters during general elections Awarded by Revenue minister, Government of UP and Chairman Board of Revenue for excellent work in administration Awarded by Hon’ble Governor UP for good performance in election related work During his tenure as the District Magistrate, Azamgarh, he also got shortlisted for Prime Minister's award for exemplary work in PM Jan Dhan Yojna on civil services day, 2016