Neeraj Yadav allegedly died by suicide after consuming poison at his home
The 42-year-old F55 athlete had reportedly been under emotional stress after missing the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya due to a doping suspension
Yadav won three Asian Para Games gold medals, including titles in Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023, before anti-doping action led to the withdrawal of his 2023 medals
Asian Para Games gold medallist Neeraj Yadav is alleged to have died by suicide after taking poison at his home. A postmortem examination was under way at a Delhi hospital on Wednesday. The circumstances around his death are yet to be established.
S Satyanarayana, head coach of the Indian para-athletics team, confirmed the incident. He said he had learnt of the tragedy and added that Yadav's body was still at the hospital. "Neeraj has died by suicide. It is very unfortunate that such a thing has happened," Satyanarayana said.
It was learnt that Yadav had taken poison. The 42-year-old competed in the F55 category and was reportedly under emotional stress after missing the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya earlier this month because of a doping suspension.
Stress And Suspension
The 42-year-old competed in the F55 class and had been under emotional strain after missing the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya earlier this month, according to reports. He was ruled out because of a doping suspension.
Satyanarayana said he could not confirm what led to the incident. "I can't speculate the exact reason but if you ask me, I would say a sportsperson should face the highs and lows with equanimity. It's unfortunate that he chose this far and take the extreme step."
Career And Sanctions
Yadav won three Asian Para Games gold medals. He won the javelin crown in Jakarta at the 2018 edition, then added gold in the javelin and discus at Hangzhou in 2023. That made him one of India's accomplished para-athletes.
The medals were later taken away after anti-doping action. After the NADA report reached WADA, the Asian Paralympic Committee stripped him of the two gold medals he won at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games. Since he tested positive for a banned substance, he also did not receive the cash reward from the government.
His sporting journey began early. Diagnosed with post-polio residual paralysis at the age of seven, Yadav first took up wheelchair tennis before moving to para-athletics. He competed in the F55 category, which covers seated field events such as the shot put, discus and javelin.
