Indian Athletics: Former Running Coach Nikolai Snesarev On Why He Left India

Nikolai Snesarev took charge as Indian long distance coach in 2005 and helped the team reach great heights at the ’10 Guangzhou Asian Games. However, he left the country soon after under controversial circumstances.

Despite being keen on continuing and head the team into next year’s London Olympics, bureaucracy and red-tapism forced Snesarev to look at other options. Eventually, he joined the Qatar Association of Athletics Federation in January.

“Many friends in the Indian media reported I had left because there wasn’t enough money in it for me. But that wasn’t the case. My contract expired on November 30, ’10, and I had made it clear I wasn’t interested in a short-term renewal. I wanted to stay on until the London Olympics. But the Sports Authority of India (SAI) offered me only a three-month extension.

“I don’t know why the SAI did it. Maybe it wanted more time for the long Government procedures involved. But why should I wait for them indefinitely when at least six countries had approached me in Guangzhou to immediately sign with them?

“So even if it was with a heavy heart, I left India.”

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