Indian shuttler-cum-bureaucrat Suhas Yathiraj was left with mixed feelings on Sunday after he ended his Paralympic campaign with a Silver, saying he has never felt so happy and disappointed at the same time in his life.
The 38-year-old Noida District Magistrate produced an entertaining performance before narrowly going down 21-15, 17-21, 15-21 to two-time world champion Lucas Mazur of France in men’s singles SL4 class summit clash.
“Very emotional (moment). I have never been so happy and so disappointed in my life at the same time. Most happy because of the Silver medal but most disappointed because I missed the Gold medal by a whisker,” he said after losing the final match.
“But destiny gives what I deserve and probably I deserve Silver medal so I am happy for that at least.”
Suhas, who has an impairment in one of his ankles, said he hoped for the national anthem to play at the Yoyogi national stadium but it was not to be as the Gold medal slipped through his fingers.
“As I said, I have never been so disappointed and most happy in my life, coming so close and yet so far but still winning a Paralympic medal is not a small feat and I am extremely proud for what I have done in last few days.”
A computer engineer, Suhas became an IAS officer in 2007 and was at the forefront of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as Noida’s DM.
On Sunday, Suhas became the first ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics. “For every sportsperson, there is no higher achievement than Olympic or Paralympic, so this means the world to me,” he said.