GURGAON: Radhika Yadav, a 25-year-old who played in the junior international tennis circuit, was shot dead, allegedly by her father, at her family home here on Thursday morning.Radhika, according to police, was in the kitchen on the first floor of their Sector 57 house when Deepak Yadav walked in and pumped three bullets into her around 10.30am. One bullet was lodged in her neck and two hit her on the back.The sound of gunshots brought Deepak’s younger brother Kuldeep, who lives on the ground floor with his family, rushing upstairs. He found a bleeding Radhika slumped on the ground. Neighbours also rushed to the house and helped take her to a private hospital, but the young athlete had passed away by then.
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Deepak (49) was arrested and charged with murder after Kuldeep filed a police complaint. Police have recovered the murder weapon, which is a licensed revolved that belongs to Deepak. Radhika’s mother was not home at the time of the incident.
Disagreement over academy? Friends & neighbours in shock
Based on a preliminary investigation, police said the trigger for the shooting appeared to be a heated exchange between father and daughter about a tennis academy that Rashika ran in the neighbourhood. “The accused admitted to the crime. He was not happy that Radhika was giving tennis coaching. he had asked her to stop but she did not listen to him. The body has been kept in the mortuary for autopsy and investigation is on,” said Sandeep Kumar, a police spokesperson.A section of the media reported that Deepak was upset about Reels Radhika was making on Instagram, but neither police, nor family friends TOI spoke to had any information about this. A source involved in the investigation said it seemed Deepak had developed “deep insecurities” and had spoken of taunts that were directed at him for “living on the daughter’s income”.The family, however, did not seem to be going through financial problems. Deepak previously owned Deep Accessories, a car parts shop in old Gurgaon, which he has closed. Kuldeep is in the real estate business and Deepak has rental income, people who know the family said. A neighbour told TOI, “We are in deep shock. She was a polite, humble and hardworking girl who respected elders and coached aspiring players. Deepak, in fact, worked hard to build her career, took her for practice, and accompanied her to tournaments. It’s shocking what he has done.”Mona Sharma, whose daughter was coached by Radhika Yadav at the nearby academy, confirmed what the neighbour said about Deepak’s interest in Radhika’s career. “He used to accompany her daily for practice and took her to tournaments. Radhika was very bright. My son, who also plays tennis and was her junior, informed me about the incident and we have been in shock since. Her father really supported her. It’s hard to believe that he has killed her. I don’t have the courage to call her mother as we are family friends.“Ranked 1999 by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the tennis governing body’s website shows Radhika played ITF tour tournaments this Feb and March in Indore, Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. She lost in the second round in Malaysia and the first round in the two other meets. ITF is the main global governing body for junior and entry level tournaments while WTA governs the top tier. Vinod Kumar, SHO of Sector 56 police station, which is handling the investigation, said Radhika had suffered an injury that prevented her from continuing to play competitive tennis. “Following the injury, she began coaching both male and female players,” he said. Suman Kapur, CEO of Haryana Tennis Association, said he had met Radhika during the National Games in Goa in 2023. “We were there for a week. She was disciplined and focused, took great care of her sports kit, and respected her game. She did not win a medal but played well,” he said.A tennis player from Haryana who was part of the tournament that year told TOI, “I didn’t know her personally. As a player, she was good.”
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