'Women athletes should be idolised and followed': Neeraj Chopra reacts on tennis star Radhika's killing

The killing of tennis player Radhika Yadav in Gurugram, Haryana, has left the sporting world stunned. Radhika Yadav, 25, a national-level player and tennis coach, was shot dead by her father after a fight over her tennis academy. Radhika's father Deepak Yadav was sent to police custody for a day by a Gurugram court on Friday (July 11). He has confessed to the crime.

The tragic demise of the tennis player, hailing from Haryana, has drawn sympathy from sportspeople as well as Bollywood personalities. Neeraj Chopra, India's ace javelin thrower and two-time Olympic medalist, has also responded to the killing by appealing to families to stand together to avoid such tragedies.

The two-time Olympic medalist said women athletes from Haryana are doing great for the country and that they should be idolised and followed. "I was speaking to a few people about this before. We already have some excellent examples of female athletes from Haryana doing wonders for the country. In families, you should support each other, and those (women athletes) who are doing well should be idolised and followed," Neeraj was quoted saying to NDTV.

Radhika was shot dead by her father in the family's double-storey residence in the posh area of Sushant Lok neighbourhood in Gurugram. A court in Gurugram has remanded the accused to police custody for a year. Following the court's direction to send the accused into one-day custody, a police official confirmed that they had requested two days of remand of the accused.

What led to Radhika Yadav’s killing on July 10?

On Thursday (July 10), while Radhika was cooking for her mother on her birthday in the kitchen, Deepak fired five shots from a .32 bore licenced revolver. Three of the bullets pierced Radhika's back and killed her on the spot. An FIR was filed on the complaint of Radhika's uncle, Kuldeep Yadav.

Radhika's mother, Manju Yadav, was present on the same floor when the incident took place. Their son, Dheeraj, was not at home during the incident. At first, Radhika's mother refused to give her statement to the police. She subsequently said that she was lying in her room with a fever when the incident happened and described the sound as being that of a "pressure cooker blast". She further added that Radhika was a good character and never brought any disrepute to the family.

Radhika had played for Haryana in different tennis competitions and secured several medals and awards. Yet, two years back, she got injured, which forced her to leave competitive sports.