Olympics 2024: Neeraj Chopra's Coach Explains Why They Didn't Risk Javelin Thrower at Paris Diamond League

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As the Paris Olympics 2024 approach, Neeraj Chopra is hitting his stride, focused on securing another gold in javelin. Chopra's decision to skip the Paris Diamond League on July 7 might have puzzled some, but Bartonietz explained that this was a deliberate move.

"There were some minor issues, not worth risking by going there," Bartonietz noted. The venue for the Diamond League was not the Olympic stadium, which made the risk even less worth taking. Instead, the focus is on ensuring Chopra's peak performance at the Olympics.

After a few challenging months dealing with an adductor issue, Chopra's coach, Klaus Bartonietz, has reassured fans that everything is on track. "Everything is according to plan. At the moment, no issue with that (adductor niggle), it's fine, it looks good, hoping to remain like that till the Olympics," Bartonietz said from their training base in Antalya, Turkiye.

After withdrawing from the Ostrava Golden Spike in late May due to discomfort in his adductor muscles, Chopra made a strong comeback by winning gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in June with a throw of 85.97 meters. Despite this impressive return, Bartonietz emphasized that avoiding unnecessary risks was key. "It's just over two weeks left in the Olympics, so the intensity of training is high. He is having full throwing sessions," Bartonietz explained.

Chopra's current training routine is intense, involving two daily sessions focused on sprinting, jumping, throwing, and weightlifting. Bartonietz mentioned that their approach is similar to the one they used before the Tokyo Olympics, which helped Chopra achieve his gold medal.

"Yes. Generally, javelin throw is all about it (having fast runway and blocking well). It's very hard to throw far with a poor runway. More the energy you bring with that, the better it is," Bartonietz said.

The decision to participate in fewer events before the Olympics was also calculated move from the coach for his protege. "You can compete in many events or not, it's tough to say what is enough (number of events). It depends on the situation. Jan Zelezny (Czech legend and world record holder) says he does not compete in too many events (just two before 1992 Olympics where he won gold)," Bartonietz explained.

He added that frequent competitions can disrupt training and pose logistical challenges. "Competitions sometimes disrupt preparation and you start all over again. Competing in high-class events can become risky also. Traveling too much with logistics, with javelins around the world, is also not good." With the qualification round just two weeks away, Chopra is in top form and ready to aim for another Olympic victory.