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Indian para-athletics icon and Asian Para Games gold medallist Neeraj Yadav has died by suicide in Delhi at the age of 42.
Chief para-athletics coach S Satyanarayana confirmed the tragic news, noting that Yadav had recently missed the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, due to an ongoing doping suspension. "Neeraj Yadav died by suicide. Unfortunately, an athlete took such a step. I am unaware of the exact reason, but he had missed out on the Asian Para Games 2026. Ups and downs are part of an athlete''s life, but unfortunately, he took this extreme step," Satyanarayana told ANI. According to the Delhi Police, authorities at the Jafrabad police station received a distress call from GTB Hospital at around 12:08 AM on Wednesday after Yadav was brought to the emergency department and declared dead on arrival. Police stated that a woman who accompanied Yadav to the hospital reported meeting him in Sonipat earlier on Tuesday to inform him that she could no longer remain in touch with him. Yadav subsequently drove her to the Maujpur area in Delhi. Around 9:00 PM, growing suspicious, the woman rushed to Gate No. 1 of the Maujpur Metro Station, where she discovered Yadav lying unconscious on the road beside his vehicle. She immediately rushed him to the hospital, where medical staff pronounced him dead. Delhi Police have initiated proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) at the Jafrabad police station, and a detailed investigation into the exact circumstances surrounding his death is currently underway. Diagnosed with post-polio residual paralysis at the age of seven, Neeraj Yadav overcame immense physical challenges to become one of India’s most decorated para-athletes. He initially competed in wheelchair tennis before transitioning to para-athletics (competing in the F55 seated category for javelin, discus, and shot put), where he established an extraordinary legacy on the international stage: He was crowned champion in the men''s F55 javelin throw with a record-breaking Asian throw of 29.84 metres at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games. In 2023 at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, he secured a historic double gold medal haul, dominating both the javelin and discus events. Yadav missed out on the recently concluded 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, where India finished fourth with a record 114 medals (30 gold), following a doping suspension. Outside of athletics, Yadav ran the Anshneer Sports Academy, an online sports coaching venture based in Sonipat, Haryana. He is survived by his wife and their three-year-old daughter. (ANI)
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