Between 1979 and 1983 Zelentsova worked as a coach in Tashkent while continuing her own athletic career. She won the semi-final at the 1979 European Cup, then placed third at the 1979 Soviet Spartakiad; the winner, Marina Makeyeva, broke her world record. Zelentsova's students in Tashkent included relay world champion Sergey Lovachov.