By Ahmed Abdelsalam
Indian para-athlete Neeraj Yadav, a three-time Asian Para Games gold medalist, was found dead in Delhi on Monday night at the age of 42 while serving a four-year suspension for doping.
Death discovered near metro station
Yadav was found beside his SUV near Maujpur metro station in northeast Delhi. Delhi Police said they were alerted by Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital shortly after midnight on Tuesday that a man had been brought to the emergency department and declared dead. The body was shifted to the hospital mortuary, and proceedings have been started under Section 194 of the criminal code, which governs inquiries into suspected suicides. A post-mortem examination is expected to provide more details.
Doping ban and career impact
Yadav was suspended in 2023 after an out-of-competition sample collected in Bengaluru tested positive for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid. India’s National Anti-Doping Agency handed him a four-year ban, which prevented him from competing at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. His two gold medals from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games were also revoked, and he did not receive the associated government cash awards. S Satyanarayana, head coach of India’s para-athletics team, said Yadav had been looking forward to competing in the recent Asian Para Games in Japan and that the suspension may have affected him deeply.
Anti-doping context in India
India has ranked among the top two countries globally for anti-doping violations in athletics each year from 2022 to 2025. In response, the Athletics Integrity Unit reclassified the Athletics Federation of India to Category A, its highest-risk category, subjecting it to more stringent anti-doping measures alongside nations such as Russia, Belarus, and Nigeria.
Yadav, who was diagnosed with post-polio residual paralysis at age seven, began his sporting career in wheelchair tennis before switching to para-athletics. He won his first international gold at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta, setting an Asian record in the men’s F55 javelin throw. He ran the Anshneer Sports Academy in Sonipat, Haryana, and is survived by his wife and three-year-old daughter.
