Neeraj Chopra became India's first gold medallist in a track-and-field event on Saturday. Chopra's backroom staff came into the limelight as Klaus Bartonietz and Ishaan Marwaha were credited for the spectacular performance of the athlete. Klaus has been associated with Neeraj for the past three years while Ishaan has been Neeraj's physio who helped him bounce back from injury.
He has overcome various hurdles and obstacles, including injuries, to become an Olympic champion and the coach as well as the physio deserve full credit.
Split With Uwe Hohn
Until 2019, Neeraj worked with Uwe Hohn, who is the only athlete in history to throw the javelin past 100 metres. Hohn's record of 104.8 m was never broken after the javelin was redesigned in 1986.
Neeraj felt that his performance would have been affected and hence parted ways with the legendary German track and field athlete in 2019 after he failed to recover in time for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha. Since then, his sole coach has been Klaus Bartonietz. Klaus has been working with Neeraj for three years now.
Klaus - The Key Man Behind Neeraj's Comeback
The main focus for Klaus was to polish the natural body flexibility and his coached techniques have suited Neeraj.
"I have been training under coach Klaus since 2019 and he has been a significant contribution to this medal because his training plans and techniques really suit me well. I was with coach Uwe in 2018 and with him, I mainly improved my strength but also, I felt that the technique that he told me was a bit different and I talked to him about that," Neeraj told Sportstar.
Neeraj said that Klaus "teaches something new and different" and that played a crucial part in his success. "I would like to thank Uwe sir and Klaus sir for putting their heart into training me, which resulted in the Olympic gold," he said.
Ishaan Marwaha- The Physio Who Helped Him Make A Comeback
Ishaan has been Neeraj's physio and played an important role in Neeraj's rehabilitation. In 2019, Neeraj had developed spurs in his elbow, which forced him to miss the World Athletics Championship. During his recovery, the Neeraj bounced back to a superb form with Ishaan's help.
"Neeraj has a certain way to stretch. Now, Ishaan has come in and knows his body better than anyone else. They have that comfort level. I think Ishaan has helped him immensely to keep his body loose and remain injury-free," Manisha Malhotra, head of sports excellence and scouting at JSW Sports, told The Quint.
(Inputs from Sportstar and Telegraph)
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