Neeraj Yadav Death Case Takes a New Turn As Police Probe Possible Love Angle

New Delhi: Asian Para Games gold medallist Neeraj Yadav has died by suicide after consuming poison at his residence, with the athlete reportedly under emotional stress following a doping suspension that ruled him out of the Games in Japan and the end of his friendship with a woman.

His body was taken to Delhi's GTB Hospital for a postmortem examination on Wednesday. The circumstances surrounding his death are yet to be established.

S Satyanarayana, head coach of the Indian para-athletics team, confirmed the incident and said he was in touch with Yadav since the doping case came to light following the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

"Neeraj has died by suicide. It is very unfortunate that such a thing has happened. I had a very close relationship with him. After his name came up in the doping case, I was constantly in touch with him," Satyanarayana told PTI.

Proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) are being undertaken by the Jafrabad Police Station.

During the inquiry, the woman who took Yadav to the hospital told police that she was in a "friendship" with him since December 2025.

A senior police officer said the woman had gone to Sonipat, Haryana, on Tuesday to meet Yadav and told him that she "could not be in touch with him further".

"Thereafter, Yadav dropped her at Maujpur, Delhi, in his Scorpio. At around 9 pm, the woman became suspicious and reached near Gate No. 1 of Maujpur Metro Station, where she found Yadav lying on the road beside his car. She subsequently took him to the hospital for medical assistance, where he was declared brought dead," the officer said.

"Further inquiry revealed that Yadav was a para-athlete and was running an online sports academy in Sonipat under the name Anshneer Sports Academy."

Yadav was married and is survived by his wife and their three-year-old daughter.

Diagnosed with post-polio residual paralysis at the age of seven, Yadav initially took up wheelchair tennis before switching to para-athletics, where he established himself as an international-level competitor.

He won three gold medals at the Asian Para Games in his career in F55 caregory -- men's javelin throw title in Jakarta in 2018 and javelin and discus titles in Hangzhou in 2023.

At present, he was serving a four-year suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. The sanction cost him both gold medals won in Hangzhou, along with the associated government cash reward and prospects of a government job.

"He came under a lot of stress after the doping issue. He was serving a four-year suspension. A couple of months ago, he spoke to me and asked if he could participate in the selection trials for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games," said Satyanarayana.

"I told him it was not possible as he still had a few months of his suspension left."

The coach said the doping case had dealt a severe blow to Yadav's career and financial prospects, particularly after his success at the Hangzhou Games.

"When he won two gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games, he was in line for a Class I government job in Uttar Pradesh, which would have improved his life. He was supposed to get more than Rs 3 crore and a Class I job. His peers had all got jobs," he said.

Satyanarayana said Yadav had also lost the cash award after the Asian Paralympic Committee stripped him of his Hangzhou titles following the doping proceedings.

According to the coach, the delay in the proceedings was linked to the appeal process.

Expressing shock over Yadav's death, Satyanarayana said he did not know the exact circumstances that led to the incident.

"I can't speculate on the exact reason, but he was depressed on a number of counts. One was the shock of losing the two gold medals, the second was the cash award he would have received, and the third was his job prospects...his mother was taking care of him as he had a strained relationship with his wife," he said.

"He definitely took poison. But the exact substance he took will only be known after the postmortem examination. But 100 per cent, he took poison... the colour of the body had also changed somewhat," he said.

"I don't understand why he took this extreme step when there are so many avenues for para-athletes to earn a livelihood. He could have become a coach. Things have changed for para-athletes compared to 40 years ago.

"He had also received good prize money for the gold he won at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta," he added.

The F55 classification is used for seated field events in para-athletics, including the shot put, discus and javelin.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)