Two of the athletes he coaches, 15-year-old Ritesh Chatterjee and 16-year-old Chittibomma Jignesh, who both won silver medals at the Games, were injured in the accident, which occured on the national highway No. 5 near Jupudi.

Lenin, alongwith Ritul and Jignesh, was returning to Vijayawada after attending a celebration in Hyderabad organised by the State Government to honour the Commonwealth Games medal winners and their coaches.

"We started from Hyderabad at around 8 pm on Saturday in a Scorpio, which was being driven by Lenin," said Cherukuri Satyanarayana, Lenin's father and secretary of Andhra Pradesh Archery Association, who also hurt.

"At around 2 am, when we were 40 kilometres away from our home, an autorickshaw suddenly came from opposite side.

"In a bid to avoid collision, Lenin swerved the vehicle and it hit the road divider.

"The vehicle turned upside down and he died on the spot, while we escaped with injuries."

An international archer- turned- coach, the 26-year-old Lenin had represented India in the compound events and won a silver medal in the 2005 Asian Grand Prix Archery Championships.

"He is now said to be the number three archery coach in the country," said Satyanarayana.

"Both his students - Ritul and Jignesh are being groomed as international players."