'Made her life miserable': Indian tennis player killed by father in senseless act

Radhika Yadav. (PTI Photo)

In tragic news that has rocked the tennis community, Indian tennis player Radhika Yadav has been shot dead by her father in Gurugram, southwest of New Delhi.

According to the ITF website, Radhika, 25, recorded a career-high ITF singles ranking of No.1999 in March last year and played 36 matches before taking up coaching.

Radhika followed her dream to run a local tennis academy, but her father, Deepak Yadav, was reportedly opposed to the idea.

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Deepak eventually admitted to police that he had killed his daughter because he was taunted for living off her income from that same academy.

She was taken to a private hospital with bullet wounds, but when the Gurugram police arrived, only her uncle was there by her side.

"(Deepak) had been upset for a while as he was being taunted by locals over his daughter's income. He was troubled by their remarks. They would keep saying the house is running on her money, and he is too dependent on that. He had asked (Radhika) several times earlier to stop working at the academy, but she refused. He could not take it anymore," Station House Officer Inspector Vinod Kumar told The Indian Express.

The police also mentioned that Deepak relied on rent income from multiple small properties.

Another Indian tennis player, Himaanshika Singh Rajput, who was close friends with Radhika, shared harrowing details about the mistreatment that she knew about.

"My best friend Radhika was murdered by her own father. He shot her five times. Four bullets hit her. He'd made her life miserable for years with his controlling, constant criticism. In the end, he listened to so-called friends who were jealous of her success," Himaanshika wrote on Instagram.

"She worked so hard in her tennis career and even built her own academy. She was doing so well for herself. But they couldn't stand to see her independent. They shamed her for wearing shorts, for talking to boys, for living life on her own terms. She was rushed to the hospital, but she didn't make it."

Around 150 people attended Radhika's funeral.

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