The body of Sergei Ovchinnikov, the 43-year-old Russian volleyball coach who was found dead in his hotel room on Wednesday, is likely to arrive in Russia next week, a diplomat told RIA Novosti.

Ovchinnikov was discovered dead in the Croatian resort town of Porec, where he had been staying with his club Dynamo Moscow for a preseason training camp.

With the official account of what happened yet to be issued, speculation has mounted that he committed suicide.

Ovchinnikov led the Russian team to the quarterfinals at the Olympics earlier this month after taking over as coach in December. Russia was beaten 3-2 in the Olympic quarterfinals by eventual champion Brazil after squandering six match points, a result widely seen as a failure back home for one of the medal favorites.

"There is no specific date for the transfer" of Ovchinnikov's body, said Boris Pavlov, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Zagreb.

"Representatives from the All-Russian Volleyball Federation are in Croatia now studying this issue, we are helping with the consulate documents," he added.

"The procedure can be initiated no earlier than the start of next week."

Pavlov said there had been no correspondence from Croatian police that the investigation had ended.

The suicide theory, he said, "will most likely become the main one."