The Noida DM has made history as the first Indian civil servant to compete in the Paralympics in Tokyo. In 31 minutes, the Indian commuter defeated Indonesian Fredy Setiawan 21-9, 21-15.
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Suhas got off to a strong start in Game 1, taking the lead and continuing to put pressure on Setiawan. The Indian commuter came out on top in the first game 21-9. The two commuters were neck-and-neck at the start of the second game when Suhas seized the lead. Suhas then scored the game's second try, putting the game out of reach at 21-15.
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Suhas LY became the first Indian bureaucrat to win a professional International Badminton Championship in the 2016 Asian Para Badminton Championships in Beijing. While acting as the District Magistrate of Azamgarh, he won gold by defeating Hary Susanto of Indonesia in the finals. When the current Gautam Buddh Nagar DM won gold, he became the first serving Indian bureaucrat to represent and win a medal for India at a worldwide level.
Suhas LY also won the BWF Turkish Open Para-Badminton Championships in Antalya in 2017 in both the men's singles and doubles categories, and repeated the success in singles in 2019.
The Badminton World Federation has chosen him to represent India in the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Based on international rankings and performance, BWF invited BAI and PCI India.
"I feel happy that my hard work has paid off," Suhas told the leading daily before playing in Tokyo Olympics. "It gives me great pleasure to be able to represent my nation on the world's most renowned sporting platform. Given my significant duties during the Covid crisis, it was difficult to find time for practise. But if you really want it, you'll find a way. I've had a lot of support from my friends and family, and I'm looking forward to bringing honour to the country."
Meanwhile, commuter Manoj Sarkar lost in straight sets in the SL3 men's singles semi-final on Saturday.
In the semifinals, Daniel Bethell of the United Kingdom defeated Manoj 21-8, 21-10 in 38 minutes.
Later on Saturday, Manoj will fight for the bronze medal.
In the SL3 men's singles tournament earlier today, world number one commuter Pramod Bhagat advanced to the final after defeating Japan's Daisuke Fujihara 21-11, 21-16.
Bhagat dominated the match, winning it in straight sets to go to the final. In the SL3 SU5 Group mixed doubles, Indian team Pramod Bhagat and Palak Kohli defeated N Saensupa and Siripong Teamarrom 2-0 to progress to the semi-finals on Friday.