After an unprecedented Olympic gold and a silver, Neeraj Chopra's partnership with his coach Klauss Bartonietz is set to come to an end. (More Sports News)
The duo, which has been working together for the last five years, is set to part ways as the 75-year-old Bartonietz wants to spend more time with his family now.
"He (Bartonietz) is 75 and he now wants to be with his family and does not want too much travel also," an official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) told PTI.
"It is not that Neeraj wants to end the association, it is Bartonietz who has expressed his inability to continue as his (Neeraj's) coach," the official added.
Earlier, the Indian Express had also reported the same.
“Coach Klaus Bartonietz won’t continue with the Indian athletics team and Neeraj Chopra after this season. He is returning to his hometown in mid-October. Till May 2022, he was also involved in coaching other javelin athletes also and also conducting courses for javelin coaches. The reason is that he is nearly 76 years old and he wants to stay with his family. He was not willing to continue after 2021 but we requested him and he agreed. But this time he is going back,” Athletics Federation of India chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair had told the publication.
Bartonietz, a biomechanics expert, was brought onboard after the Athletics Federation of India and the Sports Authority of India fell out with Chopra's previous coach Uwe Hohn.
Chopra has been coaching under the German since 2019 and the partnership brought historic results for India. Neeraj became the first Indian to win a track and field medal in Olympics when he finished at the top in the the men's javelin throw competition in 2021 at Tokyo Olympics. Neeraj also competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics under Bartonietz but had to settle for silver in the French capital. Neeraj also won the World Championship last year and the Diamond League in 2022 during his stint with Bartonietz.
