PATIALA: Amidst high drama, sacked athletics coach Yuri Ogorodnik pleaded that he be allowed to immediately return to his native Ukraine as he feared for his life.
The coach said that "contaminated" food supplements could be the reason behind six of his trainees failing dope tests.
Ogorodnik lost his temper when a battery of electronic and print media journalists arrived in the morning to talk to him on the doping fiasco. He started shouting at the reporters and went inside his room, slamming the door on the faces of journalists.
After some time, he came out and broke down before finally giving his statement.
"I do not have food and am not allowed to go outside. I immediately want to go home because I can't continue to live like this. I will die. The federation and SAI will then have more problems if I die here," said a visibly disturbed Ogorodnik.
"The federation shoots me first and asks later. Ask them why they do this?"
"I don't know what is happening and I also want truth to come out."
Ogorodnik, the coach of the six dope-tainted athletes, had been asked to stay put in the country.
The coach also blamed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for not providing basic facilities, modern food supplements and doctors to the athletes.
"I cannot believe the girls tested positive for the same anabolic steroid. I have never given any anabolic steroid to any athlete. I am not to blame for it. The athletes have taken only food supplements and those could be contaminated," Ogorodnik said.
"I did not play any role in the doping scandal. I have been set up and this is an attempt to tarnish my reputation," he said.
"We bought supplements together. I have given them only food supplements and no other tablets. If somebody mixed something with the food supplements how would you know that?"
Six quarter-milers -- Sini Jose, Ashwini Akkunji, Mandeep Kaur, Juana Murmu, Tiana Mary Thomas and Priyanka Pawar -- who were being coached by Ogorodnik have tested positive for methandienone.
Sini, Ashwini and Mandeep were part of the 4x400 metres relay team that won the gold at last year's Commonwealth and Asian Games. The athletes had blamed the food supplements recommended by Ogorodnik for failing their dope tests.
"I write the schedule but I have never mentioned any anabolic drugs. I am a professional coach. Every month, these girls are tested and their tests have never shown positive."
"I bought supplements from a chemist in Patiala. I can recognize the shop."
Ogorodnik said the athletes had to buy food supplements from outside as supplements provided by the SAI were not up to the mark.
"They (SAI) give us only vitamins and proteins because they don't have money. For the Olympics, you need modern food supplements which are very costly. Here you get only rice and spicy food which is not good for the athletes. The supplements come from China which are not good quality supplements. We don't have a doctor. We do not have food or good supplements. We don't have good places to train. The temperature soars to 40-45 degrees and practice starts at 6 o'clock."
"SAI's protein and vitamin supplements are insufficient. So we bought those from a chemist in Patiala which might be contaminated," said the Ukrainian coach.
"You didn't have modern food supplements, we didn't even have doctors in the academy," he said.
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