India’s Krishna Nagar on Sunday won the country’s fifth Gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympic Games as he defeated Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai in the final of the men’s singles (SH6) event. Noida DM Suhas L Yathiraj won a Silver as India finished their Paralympics campaign with record 19 medals.
A 2007-batch IAS officer with a leg impairment, Suhas lost to France’s Lucas Mazur in the badminton Men’s Singles SL4 event. Reacting to his Silver medal-winning performance, Suhas said that he was happy for winning a Silver but disappointed for missing out a Gold by a ‘whisker.’
Congratulating Nagar for winning a Gold, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Happy to see our Badminton players excel at the Tokyo #Paralympics. The outstanding feat of @Krishnanagar99 has brought smiles on the faces of every Indian. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold Medal. Wishing him the very best for his endeavours ahead. #Praise4Para.”
Modi wrote about Suhas, “A fantastic confluence of service and sports! @dmgbnagar 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. Best wishes to him for his future endeavours.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote on Facebook, “Congratulations to Krishna Nagar on winning a Gold medal in the Badminton Men’s Singles SH6 event.
India is proud of your fantastic achievement! #Tokyo2020 #Paralympics.”
As for Suhas’ victory, Gandhi wrote, “Congratulations to Suhas Yathiraj for the #Silver. India is proud of this civil servant-sportsman who is dedicated to serving the nation. #TokyoParalympics.”
Suhas has become the first-ever IAS officer to win a Paralympics medal. The civil servant, who was appointed to head the Noida administration during the first wave of the pandemic last year, had earned plaudits for his efforts to check the spread of the virus.
This is India’s biggest-ever medal-haul at the Paralympic Games. Five years ago in Rio, the Indian contingent had won four medals.