Palinder Chaudhary was living in JLN Stadium hostel since November 2016. (File)
Palinder always dreamt of representing India in the Olympics and had even got the Olympic symbol tattooed on his right hand, says Ajeet Rawat, a mentor-cum-friend of the 18-year-old athlete who allegedly committed suicide at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.
Mahesh Pal, the father of the athlete, who allegedly hanged himself to death, says he does not know what went wrong and why his son took such an extreme step.
Mr Rawat, who knew Mr Chaudhary since 2012, says he was a focused, hard-working person.
"He knew what he wanted. He wanted to represent India in the Olympics. He had even got the Olympics symbol tattooed on his right hand.
"He had set his sights on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was preparing for it. He would also say if he missed out on a 2020 berth, he would try for the 2024 Paris Olympics," Mr Rawat says.
Mr Rawat says Mr Chaudhary was a great friend and it would be hard for him to come to terms with his death.
"In fact, I used to speak to him on a daily basis. I spoke with him on Tuesday around 2 pm. He would share everything with me. It is hard to believe that he took this extreme step," Mr Rawat says.
He says he spoke to Mr Chaudhary about a competition in Aligarh that was scheduled for November 28 and 29.
SAI Director General Neelam Kapur earlier said, "It seems a family matter related to monetary issues. What we came to know is that the boy had an argument with his father in the morning on the phone after which his sister came to meet him in the evening."
However, Mr Chaudhary's father Mahesh Pal, a farmer, denied that his son had an argument with him over monetary issues.
Mr Pal said that his son had spoken to his mother two days ago and asked her to inform me that he wanted some money.
"I had spoken to him on Tuesday at around 3 pm. He wanted me to send him some money. I was out for a few days. I had assured him that I will be sending him money. He spoke very normally. Everything seemed fine. I don't know what went wrong and under what pressure he took this step", Mr Pal said.
"He was very focused and career-oriented. He had a lot of aspirations in life and had been residing at the hostel of JLN Stadium from 2016 and not even once he complained about anyone troubling him or him being under any pressure," Mr Pal told PTI.
Mr Pal said he has lost his son and he has not complained against anyone and does not wish to pursue the matter further.
Mr Chaudhary, who was residing in room No.69 of JLN Stadium hostel since November 2016 and was training for 100 and 200 metre races, came back to his room at 5.30 in the evening and committed suicide half an hour later on Tuesday.