Suhas Yathiraj leaves Paris Paralympics with mixed feelings

Bengaluru: Para-shuttler Suhas Yathiraj’s silver medal in the SL4 category at the Paris Paralympics brought about mixed feelings for the 41-year-old from Hassan.

It mirrored his achievement from three years ago at the Tokyo Paralympics and left him with the same bittersweet taste – a blend of pride and frustration.

But losing the elusive gold medal to the same player prompted a thorough introspection and an honest takeaway.

Yathiraj went down 9-21, 13-21 to Frenchman Lucas Mazur in the final, and admitted that it was not his best performance.

“I am feeling both happiness and sadness. That is how life is, but it is always a great honour and privilege to win a medal for my country,” Yathiraj told DH. “He (Mazur) is a formidable player. We have faced off many times, and I defeated him in the World Championships semifinal earlier this year. Yesterday he played well, probably fed off the home crowd too, and was aware of the conditions,” Yathiraj said.

“I made too many unforced errors. It was not my best performance. My timing was off, and I was unable to control the shuttle. There was a lot of air and drift, and I did not handle the conditions the way I normally would,” he admitted.

Yathiraj entered the Paralympics as the world No. 1 and is pleased with his progress since the Tokyo Paralympics. He also noted that the fitness standards in badminton are increasing.

“Since Tokyo, the journey has been very satisfactory. I won gold in the Asian Para Games and World Championships and was world No. 1 too. I have worked a lot on my fitness. The fitness standards in badminton are increasing rapidly. I tried to improve my all-round game and that paid off both in the run-up and in Paris.”

When asked about his plans going ahead, Yathiraj mentioned that he would make a decision after some time and that he has not thought about the future.

“I will let the feeling sink in first and then will see what the future holds. I never thought that the journey of life would take me to places like Tokyo and Paris. I will make decisions after some time.”

India’s promising performances so far in the Paralympics have been encouraging, and Yathiraj voiced his appreciation for the rising popularity.

“India’s medal tally has been increasing continuously. In general, the participation and encouragement in the society has been increasing as well. The amount of love we get is extremely humbling. Hopefully, by the time India can host the Olympics and Paralympics, we will be touching three figures in medals,” Yathiraj signed off.