After she became impressed watching the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships on television, her grandfather, a devoted amateur sportsman, took her to a sports school.

By age 12 she was a member of Russia's national team and routinely travelled to Moscow to take part in training camps.

In August 1999, Tchachina began training at the Olympic Preparatory School under the guidance of Irina Viner, and around the same time she won the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

In 2001, she won the gold in the hoop and silver in the individual all-around, ball, clubs and rope at the 2001 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Madrid, Spain, but Tchachina and her teammate Alina Kabaeva tested positive for a banned diuretic and were stripped of their medals.

When the supply ran out shortly before the Goodwill Games, the team physiotherapist restocked at a local pharmacy.

The commission requested the Goodwill Games organizing committee nullify Kabaeva and Tchachina's results.

Tchachina was recommended by Irina Viner for the position of President of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (RRGF) but she declined.

The opening ceremony was attended by other rhythmic gymnasts Liubov Charkashyna, Natalia Godunko and Olga Kapranova.