Russia's volleyball coach commits suicide after Olympic failure: Report

ISTANBUL

Russian coach Sergey Ovchinnikov during their Women's Preliminary Round match against Dominican Republic and Russia at the London 2012 Olympic Games. EPA photo

Sergey Ovchinnikov, the Russian women's national volleyball team coach, has committed suicide following his team’s Olympic failure, RT.com reported today.
 
The 43-year-old coach was at a training camp in Croatia with his team, Dynamo Moscow, when he died. 
 
Former coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin said the suicide could have been due to the Russian team's poor performance at the London Olympics. "He was my friend, my colleague," Kuzyutkin was quoted as saying. "Yes, there was a blunder at the Olympics, well, to hell with it. I don’t know why he couldn’t cope with it.”
 
The head coach of Russia's national men's volleyball team, Vladimir Alekno, confirmed that the rout in London was a huge blow to Ovchinnikov. "He took the Olympics very personally,” Alekno reportedly said. "I saw what he was going through and how upset he was after the defeat. He didn’t talk much."
 
The Russian squad was one of the favorites in women's volleyball at the London Games, but the team missed out on the medals, losing to Brazil in the quarterfinals.