Hounded for doping scandal, Yuri leaves India

New Delhi: Accused of being hand in glove with the athletes in the doping scandal, a bitter Ukrainian

coach Yuri Ogrodnik on Thursday left for his country after appearing before the one-man committee appointed by the sports ministry to probe into the fiasco. Yuri, whose six wards, including double Asian Games gold medallist Ashwini Akkunji, flunked dope tests in one of the worst doping scandals left India this morning, Athletics Federation of India sources informed. "Yuri has left the country this morning. He has placed his version on the doping episode before the Justice Mukul Mudgal committee," the source said. The Ukrainian, who coaches women`s 400m, 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay team, was accused of providing the athletes with food supplements not sanctioned by Sports Authority of India, which could have led to the dope flunk of six top athletes under his charge. Akkunji, her Asian and Commonwealth Games gold winning relay team-mates Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose, Jauna Murmu, Priyanka Panwar and Tiana Mary Thomas tested positive for anabolic steroids. Long jumper Hari Krishnan Muralidharan and shot putter Sonia were the other two who tested positive for anabolic steroids. Meanwhile, the AFI Anti-Doping Committee under Arun Mendiratta will begin its disciplinary hearing of Mandeep and Jauna tomorrow. Both had tested positive for anabolic steroids in the out-of-competition tests conducted by the IAAF. National Anti-Doping Agency had written to the IAAF that the disciplinary hearings of Mandeep and Jauna be handed over to its panel as the duo had also returned positive in the tests conducted by it. NADA is yet to get a reply from the IAAF on its letter and the AFI said that it will proceed the first hearing at 5pm tomorrow if the issue is not settled by that time. PTI