Tokyo Paralympics: Suhas clinches silver in badminton SL4 class
Tokyo (PTI): India's Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj ended his campaign with a historic silver after going down fighting against top seed Lucas Mazur of France in the men's singles SL4 class final at the Tokyo Paralympics here on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Noida district magistrate, who has an impairment in one of his ankles, produced an entertaining performance before narrowly going down 21-15 17-21 15-21 to two-time world champion Mazur in a 62-minute summit clash.
The unseeded Suhas had lost to Mazur, who has won three gold medals in European Championships as well, in the qualifying group A match but the Indian made a tremendous effort in the final to challenge his world No. 1 rival.
The district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) thus also became the first-ever IAS officer to win a medal at the Paralympics.
"I'm quite happy with the performance but I should have finished it off in the second game," said Suhas after winning India's third medal in badminton.
"So I'm a little disappointed that I didn't finish it off because I had a handsome lead in the second game. But congratulations to Lucas. Whoever played better is the winner."
In SL4 class, shuttlers have lower limb impairment/severe and they play standing.
Earlier, Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar had won a gold and a bronze respectively in men's singles SL3 category on Saturday.
In SL4 bronze medal play-off, second seed Tarun Dhillon went down 17-21 11-21 to Indonesia's Fredy Setiawan in 32 minutes to miss out of a medal at the Yoyogi national stadium.
In the gold medal match, Suhas stepped it up on the big stage. He completely dominated the proceedings early on, celebrating each point with a fist pump as the Indian contingent got behind him.
Suhas stood close to the net and created the opportunities in the rallies to move neck-and-neck with Mazur from 5-5 to 8-8. The Indian varied his pace and put pressure on his fancied rival to lead 11-8 at the first break.
Suhas, playing with a smile, controlled the proceedings with Mazur, who looked jaded after the gruelling semifinal against Tarun Dhillon. The French missed the lines, hitting wide and long to allow the Indian lead 18-12.
Suhas eventually grabbed five game points and next pushed one at the backline to pocket the first game.
The Indian continued the momentum, leading 3-1 in the second game. However, Mazur dug in and clawed back into the lead at 6-5. Suhas again turned it around to lead 11-8 with Mazur making silly mistakes.
The Indian maintained his lead at 14-11 after resumption but Mazur grabbed nine of the last 11 points to roar back into the contest.
Suhas rode on his flurry of smashes to make a superb start to the decider, leading 3-0. He picked his shots wisely to maintain a 6-3 lead but Mazur again fought his way back to 9-9.
But two errors handed Suhas the lead at the break again.
Mazur soon eked out a three-point lead at 17-13 with his aggressive returns on the Indian's body. Suhas committed a series of errors in the final stage to allow Mazur grab five match points and the Frenchman sealed it when the Indian went to the net.
A computer engineer, Suhas went on to become an IAS officer and has been posted as a district magistrate of Noida since 2020, a role that saw him at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
On the court, he has won gold medals at 2017 BWF Turkish Para badminton championship in men's singles and men's doubles. He also won gold in 2016 Asia championships, besides a bronze at 2018 Asian Para Games.
Pramod Bhagat on Saturday claimed India's first badminton gold at the Paralympics in men's singles SL3 class.
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Power tussle: Shivakumar loyalists make fresh pitch for leadership change
Bengaluru (PTI): The ongoing power tussle in the ruling Congress in Karnataka intensified with supporters of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar gathering at a hotel to discuss strategies to see their leader's elevation to the top post in the state.
Magadi MLA H C Balakrishna organised the gathering where discussions were held "to end the confusion regarding power sharing".
"Nearly 40 like-minded MLAs" gathered in the private hotel on Thursday night where it was decided to lobby for Shivakumar's elevation as the Chief Minister, Congress sources said.
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Speaking to reporters, Balakrishna, a Shivakumar loyalist, said his birthday falls on Saturday. "Since I will not be here (Bengaluru) from Friday morning as I am going out, I asked all like-minded people to have a get-together on Thursday. We invited everyone and organised this gathering."
When asked about what they discussed, the Magadi MLA said, "The discussion here was that in the present situation, if our party continues like this, it will be difficult for us in the future. The high command must give a final shape to this issue (leadership row). We have decided that we should urge them (high command) to do so."
To the question whether they would visit Delhi, Balakrishna said the matter is not about going to the national capital.
The high command is not "sleeping there in Delhi". It knows what is happening in Karnataka, he added.
According to him, when the Congress MLAs go to their constituencies, they often face questions and discussions on leadership change.
"In our constituencies, this is the only discussion and it irritates us. We must request the high command to put an end to this. Let us see how to speak about it further," Balakrishna said.
He said summoning leaders individually would not help.
"We are clear. The high command should intervene and draw a final curtain on this issue," Balakrishna said.
He added that when Congress MLAs gather, conversations naturally happen.
"During such discussions, many MLAs expressed that unless this is resolved, it will be difficult for us and our future will be uncertain," the MLA said, hinting that the leadership issue would damage the party's prospects in the 2028 assembly election.
When asked about the calls to change the Congress Karnataka unit president, which Shivakumar has been holding for the past 10 years, he said let the high command change if it wishes.
"We only want a final decision. Whether they change the president or someone else, that is not the main question. Our demand is that a final shape be given to the Congress party here," the MLA emphasised.
To a question about whether he was suggesting changing the Chief Minister in the state, Balakrishna said, "Didn't the high command say a decision will be made? Whether they change the president or the CM is the high command's decision. But a decision must be made. It's not just our opinion. What we want is that the confusion must end."
The meeting took place about a week before the budget session of the Karnataka legislature that will start from March 6.
Some other MLAs said they want Shivakumar to replace Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The power tussle has flared up in the state since November, 2025, when the Congress government completed the halfway mark of two-and-half years.
There have been reports when the Congress came to power that there was a power sharing agreement between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
According to the agreement, Siddaramaiah will be the CM for the first two-and-half years, and later Shivakumar would take charge. There was no definitive confirmation though.
Shivakumar has been hinting that a power sharing agreement did exist and very few people know it.
On the other hand, Siddaramaiah has been asserting that he would remain the CM for the full five year term.
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