IAS officer Suhas Yathiraj wins bronze in men’s singles SL4 at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games
Indian para-badminton star and IAS officer Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj won the bronze medal in the men’s singles SL4 event at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, after falling to Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in a hard-fought semifinal on October 22, 2026.
The defending champion and world number one went down 21-23, 21-8, 15-21 in a match that swung sharply across the three games. Setiawan took the opening game by the narrowest of margins, Yathiraj responded with a dominant second game to level the contest, and the Indonesian recovered in the decider to secure the place in the final.
Yathiraj’s route to the semifinals had been comfortable by comparison. He opened his campaign with a straight-games group-stage victory over Bangladesh’s Joytu Dhar, winning 21-8, 21-11, before defeating Korea’s Cho Nadan 21-12, 21-16 in the quarterfinals.
His bronze medal added to a productive day for India in para badminton at the Games. Earlier, Pramod Bhagat and Manisha Ramdass clinched bronze in mixed doubles SL3–SU5, while Krishna Nagar and Nithya Sre also secured bronze in mixed doubles SH6. Those results pushed India’s overall medal tally at the 2026 Asian Para Games to 68 medals, comprising 15 gold, 22 silver and 31 bronze.
Athlete profile
Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj was born on 2 July 1983 in Hassan, Karnataka. He is a 2007-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and has served as District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar and Prayagraj. He graduated in Computer Science and Engineering from NIT Surathkal and competes in the SL4 class, which includes athletes with lower-limb impairments who retain relatively better walking and running balance.
Yathiraj has built a distinguished record on the international para-badminton circuit. He is a two-time Paralympic silver medallist, having finished runner-up in men’s singles SL4 at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. He also won gold at the 2024 World Championships, captured the title at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, and took bronze at the 2018 Jakarta edition. Earlier in his career, he won gold at the 2016 Asian Para Badminton Championships and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2021.
He is widely recognised as the only serving IAS officer to have won both a Paralympic medal and the Arjuna Award. His latest podium finish in Aichi-Nagoya extends a run of consistent results at major international events while he continues to serve in the administrative cadre.
