Neeraj Yadav, one of India’s most decorated throwers in the F55 classification, was 42.
Head coach S. Satyanarayana confirmed the death to Indian wire agency IANS on Wednesday.
“Yes, Neeraj has died by suicide at his flat,” he told IANS. “This is extremely unfortunate and tragic.”
Satyanarayana said the cause had yet to be established. Metro Vaartha reported that Yadav had been under emotional stress after missing the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya earlier this month because of a doping suspension.
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Marathi-language outlet eSakal reported that a post-mortem examination was being carried out at GTB Hospital in Delhi, and that police suspect Yadav consumed poison.
Three Asian Para Games golds
Yadav took up para athletics in 2015 after around seven years in wheelchair tennis, having been left with post-polio paralysis in childhood. He competed in the F55 classification, which groups seated throwers.
His first Asian Para Games gold came in 2018 in Jakarta, in the F55 javelin, with an Asian record of 29.84 metres. Five years later, at the Hangzhou Games held in October 2023, he doubled up with gold in both the javelin and the discus, setting a Games record of 33.69 metres in the F55 javelin.
Doping ban kept him out of Aichi-Nagoya
Both of the Hangzhou medals were later placed under formal threat. An out-of-competition test conducted by India’s National Anti-Doping Agency in October 2023 returned a positive result for a banned steroid, Khel Now reported at the time, and the case was referred to NADA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel.
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He was still serving the resulting suspension through the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, which concluded earlier this month without him on the Indian team.
‘My wife is my strongest motivator’
In an older feature by the International Paralympic Committee, Yadav spoke about how close he had come to quitting the sport before his wife, Shobha, convinced him to keep competing.
“My wife is my strongest motivator,” he told the IPC.
He described athletics as the thing that let him stop seeing himself as disabled. On the field, he said, he did not consider himself a person with a disability.
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In India, those in distress can call iCall on 9152987821, operating Monday to Saturday, 8am to 10pm IST.
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