Noida District Magistrate Suhas Yathiraj won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country in congratulating the young IAS officer for the remarkable feat.
Yathiraj went down fighting to world no.1 Lucas Mazur of France.
The young IAS officer scripted history as he is the first member of the country’s prestigious service to even compete in a sport at such a high level.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were among the first to congratulate Yathiraj on his heroics at the Tokyo Paralympics.
"A fantastic confluence of service and sports! Suhas Yathiraj has captured the imagination of our entire nation thanks to his exceptional sporting performance. Congratulations to him on winning the Silver medal in Badminton," PM Modi tweeted.
"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to him. On earlier occasions also he won many medals. Along with efficiently discharging his administrative duties, he has been successful in Paralympics," ANI quoted Yogi Adityanath as saying.
President Ram Nath Kovind said that Yathiraj's dedication to pursuing badminton while also discharging his duties as a civil servant is "exceptional.
"Congratulations to Suhas Yathiraj who gave a tough fight to world #1 and won silver medal in badminton at #Paralympics. Your dedication in pursuing sports while discharging duties as a civil servant is exceptional," he tweeted.
His silver was India's 18th medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
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