بينما يودع نيراج شوبرا كلاوس بارتونيتز، يبقى السؤال من سيكون مدربه التالي

Indian javelin ace Neeraj Chopra was an emotional man on Wednesday, as he bid adieu to his coach for the last five years, Germany’s Dr. Klaus Bartonietz. 75 now, the latter had made his intentions clear after the Paris Olympics, where his war Neeraj had won a silver medal, behind Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

“I write this without knowing where to begin. Coach, you are more than just a mentor to me. Everything you taught has helped me grow both as an athlete and person. You have gone out of your way to make sure I was mentally and physically prepared for every competition,” Chopra wrote on Twitter.

“You stood by me through injury. You were there through the highs, and you were there even more through the lows. You were one of the quietest in the stands, but your words to me rang the loudest in my ears when I threw. I will miss the pranks and the laughs we shared, but more than anything, I will miss US as a team.

“Thank you for being a part of my journey. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of yours,” he concluded. Under Klaus, Neeraj had not only won the Tokyo Olympics gold, and Paris silver, but also World Championships medals, and even Diamond League Final, that no other Indian has managed to do so far.

But with his departure, a bigger problem is on the horizon for the Indian thrower. Who will be Neeraj Chopra’s next coach? While there is no official word on this, it could be Russian Sergey Makarov. He is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist too. But that decision will come later on.

Indian athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair said that a new coach will be appointed by the end of this year. “Yes, Dr Klaus will no longer be Neeraj’s coach. The AFI and Neeraj will together look for a coach for him.”

“Probably, we may have a coach for him before the end of this year. He (Dr Klaus) wants to be with his family. His contract with Neeraj has ended after the Paris Olympics.”