How Gaurav Khanna spotted Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Suhas Yathiraj in 2015

There is no database from the past tournaments that Indian para-badminton team chief coach Gaurav Khanna can refer to during his relentless hunt for the best players across the country. It is, however, through his experience and sometimes by accident that he comes across some of the finest talents in India**.**

Such is the story of his first interaction with Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) Suhas Yathiraj. It was in 2015 that Khanna first met the chief guest Yathiraj, who was serving as a joint magistrate, at a badminton tournament in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.

And after exchanging a few shots on the badminton court with a borrowed racquet, Khanna was convinced that Yathiraj could become one of the finest para-badminton players in the country.

"Suhas (Yathiraj) used to play badminton initially as a hobby. I met him in 2015. I had borrowed a racquet from his opponent and started playing with him. I told him then that you should take up para-badminton," Khanna told Olympics.com.

"When I saw Suhas, I figured out that his movement and reach was good. He was playing okay," he recalled.

After a few months Khanna received a phone call from Yathiraj, saying he wanted to pursue the sport. The IAS officer had by then researched para-badminton on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) website and felt that he could give it a shot.

"He (Suhas Yathiraj) called me after six months and then specially transferred his job to Lucknow to start training," Khanna recalled.

But it was not possible for Yathiraj to train at Gaurav Khanna Excellia Badminton Academy in Lucknow for a long period due to his government service. He would, thus, stay in touch with the chief coach over the phone and through video calls and train according to his guidance.

"He (Suhas Yathiraj) then took his postings at places where he could play. He always remains in touch with me from there and did his category classification through me for para-badminton," Khanna recalled.

The tireless effort from the coach and his trainee, finally, bore fruit at Tokyo Paralympics as Yathiraj clinched a silver medal in the SH4 class.

"It has been such a long journey to a silver medal. I have the satisfaction that the talent I've spotted is now a silver medallist at Paralympics," he said.

The chief coach, humbly, admits that the performance from Yathiraj will inspire him to create plenty more Paralympians in India in the future.