Father Shoots Daughter Dead in Alleged ‘Honor’ Killing

GURUGRAM, India — Radhika Yadav, 25, was once ranked among India’s top young tennis players. After a shoulder injury cut her competitive career short, she turned to coaching—offering lessons to aspiring young players across Gurugram, a sprawling suburb of Delhi, many of whom might never have otherwise set foot on a court.

On July 10, she was shot dead by her own father.

According to police, Deepak Yadav entered the home, drew a firearm, and shot his daughter from behind while she was making breakfast. He later confessed to killing her, which officers say was driven by a sense of wounded pride.

Deepak Yadav made a modest living from rental income. But it was his daughter, Radhika, a former player on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit, who supported the family. Her success, once celebrated, reportedly began to feel like a source of humiliation for her father.

Radhika Yadav, a former International Tennis Federation player, had a deep love for the game.

“[Her father] had been upset for a while as he was being taunted by locals over his daughter’s income,” the Station House Officer Inspector Vinod Kumar told The Indian Express. “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 to stop working at the academy, but she refused. He couldn’t take it anymore.”

Radhika’s murder fits the definition of what is called an ‘honor’ killing — a term Human Rights Watch uses to describe acts of violence, usually by male relatives, against women seen as having brought shame to the family. In many cultures, a man’s sense of ‘honor’ is tightly bound to his control over the women in his life. In other words, when a woman chooses autonomy, some men don’t see her as fully human with the right to agency and self-determination. Instead, they view her as a threat.

“She just wanted to live freely on her own terms,” Himaanshika Singh Rajput, Radhika’s best friend, told More to Her Story.

Himaanshika posted a tribute on Instagram to Radhika.

In her short tennis career, Radhika had played 36 singles matches and seven doubles matches under the ITF. She last competed internationally in March 2024.

Radhika’s death is under ongoing investigation. Her father is in custody on charges of murder.