Tennis player Radhika Yadav's deleted Instagram account points to what poisoned her father's mind

Time of India

2 days ago

The alleged murder of 25-year-old tennis player Radhika Yadav by her father, Deepak Yadav, may have stemmed from long-simmering tensions over her career choices and social media presence, according to a Times of India report citing ongoing police investigations. Radhika, who had suffered repeated injuries, was exploring coaching as a career beyond competitive tennis. She shared Reels of her training sessions on Instagram, drawing attention from tennis enthusiasts—but also criticism from conservative relatives in their native Wazirabad village.
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The key to the souring of ties between tennis player Radhika Yadav and her father, Deepak, could lie in her deleted Instagram account, said a Times of India report.As per the ongoing police investigation , 25-year-old Radhika was exploring career options beyond competitive tennis after facing multiple injuries. She identified professional coaching as a viable path and shared glimpses of her training sessions through Instagram Reels. These short videos reached tennis enthusiasts but also raised eyebrows at Wazirabad village in the city, where the family belonged to, sources told TOI.Comments from conservative relatives and acquaintances at the village about her social media activity seem to have poisoned Deepak's mind about Radhika, who he shot dead at their house in Sector 57 last Thursday, the TOI report said.'She was trying her hand as a video creator. We are yet to ascertain if Radhika deleted her account due to objections raised by villagers or by pressure from her father after frequent arguments at home. We will soon retrieve her account for the probe,' a police officer said. Radhika had appeared in a standalone music video in 2024, indicating her interest in the field, although she had not considered it as a full-time career option.Sources involved in the probe told TOI that her father saw coaching as a distraction from her tennis career , which he invested heavily in, hoping she would be the next Sania Mirza.But after she started coaching in an academy in Sector 57, and his relatives in Wazirabad took a dig at her 'influencer-like behaviour', Deepak felt insulted, according to the sources.Among comments about Radhika allegedly aimed at Deepak was her uploading social media videos with male players and students, police have learnt after questioning Deepak and others over two days since the murder took place.According to the investigation, this was the reason Deepak repeatedly urged Radhika to shut down the tennis academy she operated near their home and to quit coaching entirely. He preferred that she concentrate solely on playing the sport. However, Radhika—hampered by injuries and possibly aware that her peak playing years were past—viewed coaching as a natural extension of her career, not a departure from it. Sources told TOI, this became a major point of difference between the two, simmering over months.Radhika Yadav's uncle said that accused Deepak Yadav had confessed to him about killing his daughter and said he should be hanged. Vijay Yadav, the elder brother of Deepak Yadav, also categorically denied that Radhika Yadav had a tennis academy."Deepak's family was well off. Deepak had realised his mistake and there can be no greater punishment for someone than repentance. The whole family is in shock. Radhika also wanted to work in the advertising industry and become a model. She had composed a song and everyone in the family was happy about it," her uncle said.He said the accused loved his daughter very much and had not only spent crores of rupees on her career, but had also devoted all his time to her.Meanwhile, a close friend of Deepak Yadav claimed that the accused had told him that he had committed a sin. He said the accused was proud of his daughter but could not handle certain comments of people.A WhatsApp chat of Radhika Yadav and her coach, Ajay Yadav, has surfaced, in which the former purportedly talked about leaving the house at any cost and also discussed going abroad. This has led to the speculation of a dispute between the tennis player and her father but police have clarified that this angle is not being probed.The 25-year-old was allegedly shot dead at point-blank range by her 49-year-old father at the family's double-storey home in the Sushant Lok area in Gurugram's Sector 57 on Thursday.A city court sent the accused to judicial custody on Saturday. The court had remanded the accused in police custody for a day on Friday.Police have discovered five bullets and a live cartridge from the accused's Sector-57 residence. The accused was also taken to a village in Pataudi as part of the investigation.(With TOI inputs)