NEW DELHI: Nikolai Snesarev’s body was shipped via a cargo plane to his hometown Minsk, Belarus on Tuesday morning after the initial post mortem report indicated that India’s distance running coach died a natural death in his hostel room at the NS-NIS in Patiala late last week.
Nikolai, 72, was found dead on Friday evening in his hostel accommodation by the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) coaching staff and officials after the veteran coach didn’t turn up at the competition site for the Indian Grand Prix 3 at the NIS. His body was later sent to the government hospital for post mortem.
Sources told TOI that Nikolai’s autopsy report, prima-facie, has ruled out any foul play and the cause of death appears to be natural. However, to establish the exact cause of death, a viscera report will be prepared, which is a time-consuming process. It’s been suspected that the coach either died because of a heart attack or brain haemorrhage as post mortem remained inconclusive.
After sharing the findings of post mortem with Nikolai’s wife in Minsk, the coach’s body was transported from Delhi to Belarus on Tuesday. The coach’s body was brought from Patiala to Delhi by AFI and SAI NIS officials.