Not many would’ve heard of Radhika Yadav, who once gripped a tennis racquet with the promise of a national future. The sunlit courts of Gurugram were her own Centre Court — or her Philippe-Chatrier — where she trained with quiet determination, chasing the heights that stars like Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff now aim to conquer.
She showed the sparks — sure enough, she did — competing at national levels and winning multiple trophies. But sport rarely follows a definite, glorious script. A shoulder injury during a match brought her playing career to a halt. Still, she refused to walk away. Instead, she built a tennis academy, where she coached children and kept her dream alive through theirs.
On the morning of July 10 when she tried to celebrate her mother’s birthday, her life was taken away by the very hand that should have protected her.
Radhika (25) went into the kitchen of her home in Gurugram’s Sector 57 to prepare something special for her mother Manju Yadav’s birthday. While she was cooking, her father, Deepak Yadav, allegedly took his licensed .32 bore revolver and shot her three times from behind. The bullets struck her fatally.
According to reports, it was around 10:30 am, and only Radhika, her mother, and father were present on the first floor of the house. Manju, who was unwell and lying in bed due to fever, heard the gunshots but did not realise what had happened until it was too late.
Deepak’s brother, Kuldeep Yadav, and his son Piyush, who lived on the ground floor, rushed upstairs after hearing the shots. They found Radhika lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen. The revolver used in the crime was found placed on the drawing room table with five empty shells and one live cartridge still inside.
Kuldeep and Piyush rushed her to Asia Maringo Hospital. She was declared dead on arrival.
Radhika’s uncle, Kuldeep, later filed the complaint that led to the FIR. In his statement to the police, he expressed shock, saying he had no prior indication that Deepak would do such a thing. He confirmed that the revolver used belonged to Deepak and was known to the family.
According to Gurugram police, Deepak Yadav confessed to the murder during on-spot interrogation. Reports mentioned that he said he had been deeply disturbed by villagers’ remarks claiming he was surviving on his daughter’s income. “Unable to cope with the insult,” he said, and after hearing people question her character, he pulled the trigger.
He also told police that he had asked Radhika multiple times to shut down the academy, but she had refused. The FIR, based on Kuldeep’s complaint, stated that Deepak was upset with her for continuing with the tennis academy despite his repeated objections.
Their son, Dheeraj, was not home at the time of the incident—he was at his property dealer’s office. Fingerprint experts were called to the scene. Blood samples, swabs, and the murder weapon were seized as evidence.
Manju Yadav, Radhika’s mother, told police she had been unaware of any serious conflict between her husband and daughter. She said, “Radhika had a good character and had never brought disrepute to the family.”
A case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act has been registered.
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