'Neeraj Chopra go for 92m, 93m or, maybe, 94m throws in future': Former coach

New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra and renowned biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz forged one of the most successful athlete-coach partnerships. Bartonietz joined Neeraj as a biomechanical expert in Feb 2019 and later took over as his coach after the exit of fellow German and javelin throw legend Uwe Hohn.

During his time with Bartonietz, Neeraj won two Olympics and two World Championships medals and successfully defended his Asian Games crown in Hangzhou. However, the 27-year-old’s inability to breach the 90m-mark saw him forge a partnership with Czech legend Jan Zelezny early this year. Recently, Neeraj scaled the 90m peak with a throw of 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League . Bartonietz is in India, to train some young javelin throwers at the Inspire Institute of Sports’ (IIS) Hisar centre. He spoke to TOI on a wide range of issues.

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Excerpts...

Your thoughts on Neeraj’s breaching 90m barrier...

Neeraj has been training with an absolutely wonderful coach (Zelezny). Zelezny and I had shared notes and he told me that Neeraj has the ability to realise his dream.

Even during the warm-ups, Neeraj trains like he is training for the finals. He was disappointed when he came second with his personal best 90m throw.

I am quite sure he will now go for 92m, 93m or, maybe, 94m throws in future. He looks in the best shape of his life, having overcome the troubling groin injury.

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So, what changed for Neeraj thistime? Is it the Zelezny effect?Neeraj and I had met Zelezny earlier and even trained together briefly in Potchefstroom (South Africa). So, we both knew his approach. Neeraj was keen to have him on board. Zelezny has a simple training philosophy. He focuses on smart training. That’s what I also did with Neeraj for the 5-6 years. I can’t see major changes to Neeraj’s approach. He was knocking on the 90m door. It was just about that day and time. With Zelezny around, it was all about finetuning some aspects of his run-up, throwing and landing.

When you took over, what was the biggest challenge you faced in moulding Neeraj into a champion?The biggest challenge was to find the right training balance which suits his style. I needed to understand whatNeeraj actually wanted. I worked on his strength, fitness and technique. It’s like a car. Not every car can go fast. Same was with Neeraj. He just can’t run fast and land the spear to whatever distance we wished. It was about bringing those changes from inside. My job was half done with him.

What was the rehabilitation process involved post his comeback from injury in 2019?It was a shame when Covid-19 struck. After this layoff, he was actually in the shape of his life. I can say the same looking at today’s Neeraj. That time, he went to South Africa and had only one competition where he threw 87m. He was so positive about his chances for the Tokyo Olympics. Then the Games got postponed. It was a big challenge to keep Neeraj motivated. I was a biomechanics expert but, with Neeraj, my role completely changed. I became his guide, well-wisher, his go-to-man.