I feel apologetic to my countrymen: Suhas Yathiraj

The gold medal once again eluded Suhas Lanikere Yathiraj as the para-shuttler went down with a straight game 9-21, 13-21 defeat against Lucas Mazur of France, the same opponent who had bested him at the Tokyo 2020 finals in the Men’s Singles SL4 category.

Despite this setback, the 41-year old IAS officer made history as he became the first and only para-badminton athlete to win back-to-back medals with two silver medals at the Paralympics.

'Not happy with performance'

However, he overcome with mixed feelings and expressed regret to the media for not securing a gold for his countrymen.

Reflecting on the match, the shuttler admitted in a interaction with the media that it simply wasn't his day.

“It wasn’t my day. I’m definitely not happy with my performance. In a Paralympic final, you simply cannot afford to make so many unforced errors.”

Yathiraj’s frustration was clear as he recalled how his focus slipped at key moments, leading to mistakes and short rallies.

Right through the span of the match, rallies lasted just five or six strokes, such was the standard of the final.

“You cannot win against such a player if you can't keep your focus and continue rallies for 10 to 15 strokes. I think that’s where I fell short today.”

When asked if the crowd had been a distraction, Yathiraj admitted the support for the local lad was loud but said it wasn't the crowd but his own concentration that impacted his performance.

“Yes, the crowd was clearly going and that was expected, and I’ve played in front of similar crowds before, in places like Indonesia. That wasn’t the issue. I always had my crowd of 1 billion people and my Hanumanji in my mind. The real problem was that I just didn’t concentrate as much as I should have, and those unforced errors were costly against a champion player like Lucas.”

Despite the loss, the para-shuttler's journey to back-to-back Paralympic finals and a World Championship victory in Pattaya, in February this year at 41-years of age is a testament to his grit and gumption.

When asked if he could continue further in the sport, the response from Yathiraj was one of uncertainity.

“I haven’t thought about what’s next. Right now, it’s a very mixed feeling, on one hand, I’ve won a silver medal, but on the other, I lost the gold. My mind doesn’t know how to process that yet, so I need to let it sink in before deciding anything.”

'Feel sorry for myself'

The para-shuttler also reflected on Lucas’ strategy, observing the aggressive play that had become a pattern of his whenever they faced each other.

“He tries to play very aggressively against me and looks to finish the rally in five or six strokes, while my strategy is to make him continue for 10 or 15 strokes. Whenever I managed to do that, he lost points and was getting tired. That’s been the pattern for years, but today, I wasn’t ready for it, and should have been."

The Port de La Chapelle arena in Paris is known for a bit of drift where the speed of the shuttle oscillates based on the temperature inside the hall.

Players adapt to this external factor, but it wasn’t easy for the shuttlers in the Olympics, and it wasn’t easy for Yathiraj either, as he admitted the drift played a part.

"The drift was always there, but today my timing was off. I couldn’t time the shuttle as well as I have in past matches, and that made all the difference.”

Yathiraj found it hard to be please with his rare feat of reaching back-to-back badminton finals a the Paralympics since the sport's inclusion in the roster at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

"Maybe in a few days, I’ll feel proud but today I’m feeling sorry for myself. I feel apologetic to my countrymen because they had such high expectations of me.”