Exclusive Conversation with Medal-Winning Para-Shuttler Suhas Yathiraj | Paris Paralympics

and now we are joined by a very special guest on the special broadcast suas Paro Olympic silver medalist joins us along with ronar Coach gorov Kana both of us are here joining us on this special broadcast a very good evening to uh Mr Kana to you first of all you're joining us Straight From Paris uh behind you we can see the Eiffel Tower and we can see a glorious performance of Team India especially in the parab badminton category many congratulations to you for that how many more medals are we expecting from the contingent especially the parab badminton contingent this time sir uh thank you so much first of all it was a wonderful performance what we have delivered here uh with our strong athletes and uh yes yes of course the plan and the target was a little high and uh uh something is missing but definitely we'll come back stronger with more number of medals however we have crossed the number of Tes of medals what we have achieved during uh Tokyo par Olympic so we are so happy for that and suas is also with us the silver medalist which has who has retained the title uh of Tokyo par Olympics and the nation is celebrating that we've seen that in the Tweet of prime minister Narendra Modi we've seen the Tweet of President dropati murmu also congratulating suhas yaj Mr yaj first of all many congratulations to you for once again bagging a silver medal in par Olympics it was earlier in Tokyo and now in Paris from being an IAS officer to a para athlete to a parab badminton player how do you manage both the task uh first thanks a lot for the wishes so I'm extremely happy to show the silver medal in front of the iel tower uh yes it is always a dream come true uh and uh yes it has always been my dream initially to become a civil servant and from then on uh to play in Paralympics for India and yes it has been a dream run so far first in Tokyo and then in Nai parag games in hanga then in World Championships in Thailand and uh now it's probably culmination of the journey that we uh set out for and yes little disappointed that I couldn't win gold but then that's how life is you win sometimes you don't win sometimes but at the end of the day carrying back home with this silver medal I'm extremely happy and proud Mr yaj we remember the time when you were the DM the district magistrate of kumb nagar NOA and that was the time when covid pandemic was there all across the world you were managing the situation on the ground and after that in Tokyo in the year 2021 you went on bagging a silver medal for the country how did you manage put the things how difficult was it how challenging was it for you at that point of time it's always a challenge to pursue our passion and actually pursue it as a professional career so what I've done is I have always devoted myself to the primary responsibility that I have in administration and the time that otherwise people spend with their families or their personal lives I try to give my early mornings and late nights to uh my badminton and you know why not if it gives an opportunity to represent the tricolor at podiums like this so I think it's a uh it's an honor to represent the country in par Olympics and to win a medal it's it's uh there are certain moments in life that you cannot express in words this is one such moments when you win a par Olympic medal we we fall short of vocabulary to describe that and also when we talk about uh this particular achievement of yours with your fellow uh badminton players b badminton athletes there's a rise and there's a transformation that we are witnessing over the years especially in Para Athletics what do you have to say about that and the kind of role the government is playing in this soas yes as you know that parab badmon has bad five medals this time as compared to four in Tokyo in general the sporting culture and Paras Sports culture and Par admon is picking up in India very much and parents and kids now also want to take up Sports along with their studies I would urge all the young kids and their parents to at least allow the kids to pursue their passion for at least one hour a day then someone can decide whether they want to uh you know take it up uh as a profession or not but uh pursue your passion it will make one everyone physically fit and mentally fit and the sporting culture always develops a vibr vibrant Nation so yes I'm very happy to see that uh in last many years very important and very pertinent point that you've uh made out here and also one last question to you suas that what more would you like to add being the secretary also serving the up government right now what more would you like to add uh anything any particular point which can add further to the performance of para athletes at International level I I I think uh the biggest opportunity and challenge for all administrators especially in the sports field is to identify Talent at early level and to actually nurture them uh to become state level and National level athletes and then to get into uh schemes like tops that is where the real opportunity lies for States like utar Pradesh and other states and also for the country I'm sure in the coming days in next Olympics and when hopefully India po six Olympics are medal tally in both Olympics and Paralympics will be in three figures for that we have to start working now and working today Mr Kana very quick last question to you when we look at the Journey of para athletes and the kind of recognition they are getting Prime Minister nend Modi is personally interacting with all the para athletes and the medal winners what do you have to say about this transformation that we are witnessing in the recent times see truly speaking uh without any any any any any any anything inside that it is just a wonderful initiative that our prime minister has started that while we are departing from the country to participate in any of the bigger event he's uh personally blessing every athlete provide his wishes providing his wishes to everyone then we are when at at the center competing and getting medals that he's personally talking to everyone conveying his wishes and uh blessings to all of us and as soon as we go back to our country even the all the minister Sports Minister prime minister and everyone is just inviting us and uh having a leer time uh together just enjoying the celebration and the good moments together everything is just giving a feeling of confidence and uh that that our prime minister is so concerned with every athlete and everyone can have a direct touch with such a Ament personality of the country who is the head of our nation so it's it's a wonderful initiative and Sir prime minister sir's Personal Touch and personal contact with every athlete is definitely bringing up lots of confidence among the athletes and everyone is very keen to see our prime minister receiving his uh calls and uh listening to his voice and His blessings it's definitely a Wonder moment for everyone and and we are so proud that we are in a such a country where the prime minister is so intricated involved with the sports and uh his own life story is very much of struggle and he has come up from a low background and he has reached to the level of prime minister and just now U letting our nation to rise and standing strong in front of the world so we are so thankful and just our heest gratitude to our prime minister sir and just please keep blessings and with his blessings of course we are going to do a lot in future of Paras Sports as well and also in uh everybody Sports all right thank you so much Mr Kan and Mr yaj for joining us many congratulations to you once again and thank you so much for taking out time Straight From Paris and joining us for this exclusive conversation on this broadcast