Neeraj Chopra
The highly successful partnership between star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and his long-time coach Germany’s Klaus Bartonietz is set to end after five years of working together. Bartonietz, 75, has cited his age and family commitments for his separation from Chopra.
Bartonietz, 75, now wants to be with his family and not travel too much, an Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official told PTI. He said that it is not that Neeraj wants to end this partnership, but Bartonietz has expressed his inability to continue working as his (Neeraj’s) coach.
German coach made champion
26-year-old Neeraj Chopra has been working with Bartonitz, who is a biomechanics specialist, since 2019. However, Bartonitz also served as Chopra’s coach. Bartonitz first joined as a biomechanical specialist and took over as Chopra’s coach after Uwe Hohn parted ways with the AFI and the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Under the coaching of Bartonitz, Neeraj Chopra won gold medal in Tokyo Olympics and silver medal in Paris Olympics. Became World Champion and Diamond League Champion. Apart from this, she won the gold medal in the Asian Games.
Neeraj busy in preparations for the World Championship
Neeraj Chopra had missed winning the title in the final of the Diamond League played in Brussels recently. He stood second in the final. Earlier, he had to be satisfied with a silver medal in the Paris Olympics. The gold medal was won by Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, breaking the Olympic record. However, despite the silver medal, Neeraj became the first track and field athlete from India to win medals in two consecutive Olympics. Neeraj has now returned to India after finishing his current season and has started preparing for the World Athletics to be held next year. The World Athletics Championship is going to be held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan from 13 to 21 September next year. After this, his next big goal will be to win gold medal for India in Asian Games and Olympic Games 2028.
(Inputs- PTI)