Suhas Yathiraj started his Para Asian Games 2026 campaign with a resounding straight-game win over Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar in the men’s singles SL4 Group E match on Friday. In a match that had some thrilling moments, Suhas defeated Dhar 21-8, 21-11. In his next group stage clash, Suhas will face Fredy Setiawan of Indonesia.
Along with Pramod Bhagat, Suhas is a serious medal contender for India at the Para Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. Japan has always been a happy hunting place for Suhas, it he won his first-ever Paralympic medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021. He won silver in men’s singles.
An IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of the 2007 batch of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Suhas repeated won his second Paralympic silver in 2024 in Paris. He has also won Para Asian Games gold and a bronze medals in 2022 (Hangzhou) and 2018 (Jakarta) respectively.
All you need to know about Suhas Yathiraj
Born with an ankle impairment, Suhas was born to Yathiraj L K(late) and Jayashree C S in Hassan in Karnataka. He completed his secondary education in DVS independent college Shivamogga, Karnataka and graduated from National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka in Computer Science and Engineering branch in 2004.
Having played badminton as a passion since childhood, the sport took him to local competitions initially, which later turned into national-level tournaments. His passion was eventually turned into a career, which led him to represent the nation at the Tokyo Paralympics in the SL-4 category.
The 40-year-old, who is an Arjuna Award recipient, Suhas served as District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar & Prayagraj. Suhas became the first bureaucrat to win a professional championship at the international level, winning a gold medal at the 2016 Asian Para Badminton Championships.
In fact, Suhas is probably the only IAS officer in the country to win a Paralympic medal and an Arjuna Award.
India’s badminton contingent at Para Asian Games 2026
Manisha Ramadass, Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan, Alphia James, Thulasimathi Murugesan, Mandeep Kaur, Neeraj, Shanthiya Vishwanathan, Kanak Singh Jadaun, Manasi Girishchandra Joshi, Pallavi Kaluvehalli Manjunathareddy, Sanjana Kumari, Naveen Sivakumar, Nitesh Kumar, Krishna Nagar, Pramod Bhagat, Sukant Kadam, Surya Kant Yadav, Ruthick Ragupathi, Sivarajan Solaimalai, Abu Hubaida, Prem Kumar Ale, Sudarsan Muthusamy Saravanakumar, Umesh Vikram Kumar, Haris Mythili Srikumar, Hardik Makkar, Abhijeet Sakhuja, Rakesh Pandey, Suhas Yathiraj.
