'Rs 2.5 crore spent on tennis training, hopes dashed with shoulder injury'; More into Radhika Yadav's murder

NEW DELHI: Gurugram police concluded that the murdered tennis player Radhika Yadav never owned a tennis academy. Radhika trained her pupils by renting courts at various places. Rumours came out yesterday that Radhika was shot dead by her father, Deepak Yadav, after she refused to close down her academy. Deepak admitted to police that he was frustrated with Radhika focusing more on training students rather than building her career. The ensuing argument led to the murder.

Radhika was murdered by her father, Deepak, at her house in Sector 57, Gurugram, Haryana, on Thursday. Deepak was arrested by the police on the same day and remanded for 14 days. Radhika's body was cremated on Friday evening.

Three days before the murder, Deepak had threatened to kill Radhika. Deepak told the police that he was angered by her refusal to stop coaching the children. Adding more fuel to the fire, a few locals and relatives had recently spoken ill of Radhika’s social media behaviour, which Deepak happened to hear.

Two weeks ago, Deepak visited his relatives in Kasan, Manesar. It is believed that his bitter tussle with Radhika started after he returned home. Deepak was upset over relatives raising concerns over Radhika’s social media use and the content she was posting. Radhika's mother, Manju, said that Deepak was suspicious of everyone and had strict restrictions on herself and her daughter. At the same time, Manju admitted that Deepak heartily supported Radhika’s dreams in tennis. There are also reports of Deepak expressing his dissent after Radhika revealed to her family the person she chose to marry. He was reportedly from a different caste.

Deepak was disappointed with Radhika not working hard enough for a return to tennis after suffering a shoulder injury long ago. He had spent around Rs 2.5 crore on Radhika's tennis training. Radhika had told her father that the money spent on her training would not be wasted and that she would use her tennis skills and experience to help shape new players.

Radhika, who was away from tennis competitions, was active on social media. She regularly posted Instagram reels. A music video starring Radhika was also released last year. Locals and relatives criticised Radhika for being active on social media. After facing serious wrath from relatives, Radhika recently had deleted all of her social media handles.