Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Athletics coach Yuri Ogorodnik on Friday blamed Indian food supplements for six of his trainees testing positive for banned substances.
Talking to a news channel, Ogorodnik said: "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 that could be contaminated.”
He said that the supplements provided by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) were not up to the mark so they had to buy them from outside.
“SAI protein and vitamin supplements are insufficient. So we bought those from a chemist in Patiala which might be contaminated,” said the Ukrainian coach.
The coach also reiterated that he fears for his life in India and defended himself by claiming that he did not play any role in the doping scandal. He also claimed that he has been set-up to tarnish his reputation.
He also slammed the SAI for not providing enough funds for the athletes in India. “You didn’t have for modern food supplements, we didn’t even have doctors in the academy.”
First Published: Friday, July 08, 2011, 15:24