Indian para-athlete and three-time Asian Para Games gold medallist Neeraj Yadav has died by suicide at the age of 42.
S Satyanarayana, head coach of India’s para-athletics team, confirmed the death of the F55-class athlete, following which, doctors carried out his postmortem examination at a Delhi hospital.
“Neeraj has died by suicide. It is very unfortunate that such a thing has happened,” Satyanarayana said.
According to reports, Yadav had been struggling emotionally after he missed the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya because of a doping suspension. The coach declined to link the suspension to his death and said the reasons behind the tragedy remain unclear.
The National Anti-Doping Agency had provisionally suspended Yadav after an out-of-competition sample collected in Bengaluru in October 2023 tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. He later asked for DNA testing of the sample through the anti-doping disciplinary process.
Yadav ranked among India’s most successful para-athletes in seated throwing events. He won the men’s javelin throw title at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta. At the 2023 Games in Hangzhou, he added two more gold medals, winning both the javelin and discus throw events.
Doctors diagnosed Yadav with post-polio residual paralysis at the age of seven. He first pursued wheelchair tennis before he switched to para-athletics.
