Exclusive/ ‘I Entered by Accident’: Para-Olympian Suhas Yathiraj Reveals How He Found His Passion for Sports

Suhas Yathiraj is one of India's top performers at the 2024 Paralympics. The para-shuttler won a silver medal in badminton at the 2023 Para Games in Paris, gaining global recognition. He is not only a silver medallist but also passed one of the country's most difficult exams -- IAS -- on his first try. The World Number One Para Shuttler recently revealed how he stumbled upon the sport by accident.

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Silver Medalist Suhas Yathiraj Shares His Unexpected Path to Badminton

During an exclusive interaction with Republic, IAS Officer Suhas Yathiraj reflected on how he stumbled upon sports, particularly badminton. The Paralympics Silver medalist admitted that he entered the discipline by accident and did not earnestly think about taking it up professionally. But after he won a gold medal as an unseeded player at the Asian Championships in Beijing, his journey took off quickly.

"The first, I entered sports by accident. I did not really think in the initial days that I will play professionally, but then in 2016, I played Asian Championship in Beijing, China. And then, I did not really expect anything of myself. I went as an unseeded player and won the gold medal. From there on the journey of winning medals in Asian Para Games, Arjuna Award, then Tokyo and Paris," Suhas Yathiraj said.

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Yathiraj has been an unstoppable force after his win in Beijing. The superstar para-athlete has been juggling life with his profession and badminton, and he intends to continue it that way. Further in the interaction, para-shuttler Suhas exclaimed that he has been in several places so far and he hopes that his journey ahead will be an exciting one.

"I think journey of life is like that. You cannot really plan what, you will do after, say, a decade or so. I always believe in taking one thing at a time and looking at things positively very often. We can always see the glass and say it's half empty, but it's the perspective, right? You can always, say that it's half full, and then I will have to do more. So yes, the journey of life has taken me to different places. And, hopefully, in the coming decades also, I will enjoy the ride," said Yathiraj.