Nearly a year-long alleged rivalry between 25-year-old Chirag Tyagi, the Paralympic athlete who was shot dead on May 30 in Ghaziabad, and another Paralympic athlete, who has been apprehended in the murder case and was his junior, preceded the killing, DCP City and Trans-Hindon Dhawal Jaiswal said on Sunday. The autopsy reports have confirmed gunshot injury as the cause of the death.

According to a senior police officer, the victim and the suspect were friends earlier and even stayed together for a few years, while training in Delhi, before the accused returned home last year following disqualification in an event. “They both participated in the same category, for runners who could not see beyond 6 m. But last year, the accused got disqualified at this event after the authorities allegedly found out that he could see. The accused thought that Chirag had filed a complaint against him. However, we have not found an official letter,” an officer said.

On Sunday, over a hundred people gathered at Chirag’s house in Ghaziabad’s Muradnagar where his body was brought after the autopsy.

Just days before he was killed, Chirag had qualified for the Asian Para Games 2026, to be held in Japan in October, after winning gold and silver medals in the 400 m and 1,500 m races, respectively, in the Men’s T12 (Visually impaired athletes) category in the 8th Indian Open Para Athletics International Championship held at Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru between May 26 and May 28.

Sanyogita Tyagi, his aunt, said the whole village was preparing for a grand welcome. “He was supposed to come home on Saturday… We had been getting congratulatory calls from relatives. We all were very happy,” she said as she pointed to the medals and trophies in his room.

Villagers affectionately called Chirag “Toofan” (a storm) for his speed in 100 m and 400 m races. “We hoped to see Chirag win a medal for India in the Asian Para Games but now he is no more,” Ashish Tyagi, Chirag’s cousin, said.

It was difficult for the 25-year-old to convince his father, being the only child, that he wished to pursue sports and not prepare for IIT, said another cousin, Himani Tyagi (40). “He asked his father to give him some time and showed him he can run at a lighting speed.

He started winning district and state-level competitions and later went to nationals,” she recalled. “Chirag had started training under me in 2024. A lot of senior players helped junior players and Chirag also did the same with the accused… he had brought him to train under me in 2024,” said Gajendra Singh, husband of Paris Paralympics medallist Simran Sharma, who was training Chirag before his death.

While the police have said the accused is above 18, her mother claimed that he will turn 18 in November this year. “Since the last seven years, my son has given everything to sports and considered Chirag as a mentor. He had a weak eyesight since he was small, and was keeping very quiet since he was disqualified,” she said, adding that she does not believe that her son could commit such a crime.