India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will travel to South Africa, Potchefstroom later this month for an off-season training to prepare for the next year's events. (More Sports News)
The 26-year-old double Olympic medallist, who last competed in Brussels at the Diamond League Final, will be spending a month in the Rainbow Nation.
Chopra's training will be funded by the Indian Sports Ministry, who released an official statement confirming his departure. "(He) will start his training early and will be in Potchefstroom for a period of 31 days," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"Neeraj's training session will be funded by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and the expenditure will cover his and his Physiotherapist's lodging, boarding and training cost for the period of his stay in South Africa." In the past, Chopra has trained in Potchefstroom many times, including ahead of Tokyo and Paris Olympics.
He also took part in a competition there in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. He had finished on top with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNW League Meeting 1 at McArthur Stadium.
Earlier, Chopra had penned a heartfelt note tohis long-time coach Klaus Bartonietz, who is retiring and returning back home to Germany. The German coach and Neeraj forged a formidable partnership that saw the former win the historic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Asian Games gold, a World Championship title and a silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Chopra battled an adductor muscle niggle throughout the year and it also affected his performance at both the Paris Olympics and the Diamond League Final, where he competed with a fractured left hand.
He had earlier spoken about consulting doctors at the end of the season to decide whether to go for a surgery to fix the problem.
But talking to PTI on September 27, he had played down injury concerns and also stated that he will look to improve his technique.
"It was an injury-plagued year but injury is fine now, I will be 100 per cent fit for the new season," he had said.
Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had told PTI that a new coach for Chopra is likely be appointed before the end of the year.
(With PTI inputs)
