Controversial women's 400m coach Yuri Ogorodnik is finally set to return to India after his dramatic ouster four years ago for his alleged involvement in a doping scandal as his appointment has been cleared by the Sports Ministry.
The 77-year-old Ukrainian Ogorodnik's return to the country has been a matter of speculation since the time the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) proposed his name to the government in December last year.
The ministry had taken time on taking a final decision on Ogorodnik, apparently due to his alleged involvement in the 2011 doping fiasco. But a ministry source today said that Ogorodnik's appointment has been cleared by it and the file is now with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
"The ministry has cleared his appointment. It is done from our side and now it (the file) is with SAI," a ministry source told PTI.
Ogorodnik was sacked by the sports ministry and sent back home after top Indian quartermilers, including women's 4x400m relay gold medal winners in the 2010 Commonwealth and Asian Games, flunked dope tests in 2011.
The AFI's contention has been that Ogorodnik's alleged involvement in the dope shame could not be proved by the NADA Disciplinary and Appeal panels and by another one-man commission set up by the government.
