IAS officer from Shimoga reaches badminton finals at Tokyo Paralympics

Bengaluru: The first IAS officer representing Indian in the Paralympics has reached the badminton finals Tokyo. Suhas L Yathiraj, Noida District Magistrate, hails from Shimoga in Karnataka.

Yathiraj on Friday defeated Susanto Hary of Indonesia in the men's singles SL4 - Group. It is his second match at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics. He registered his first victory against a German player.

Suhas, who has become the first civil servant to represent India in the Tokyo Paralympics, won the game 21-6, 21-12 against his Indonesian rival in just 19 minutes.

He got off to a good start in his opening game winning 21-6. Riding on the confidence he gained in the first set, Suhas continued his fine form and took an early lead in the second game.

Suhas in his first match had also dominated the proceedings and completed the match in 19 minutes with a straight-set victory. The final match is set for Sunday.

Suhas's family and friends are confident of his winning the title for India.