Contract of Neeraj Chopra’s c extended till 2024 Paris Olympics: AFI

PTI, Jan 2, 2022, 5:09 PM IST

Neeraj Chopra (L) and Klaus Bartonietz. | Photo: Twitter

New Delhi: Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will continue to train with his German coach Klaus Bartonietz, whose contract has been extended till the 2024 Paris Games, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) confirmed on Sunday.

After winning the historic Olympic gold in Tokyo, javelin thrower Chopra had expressed a desire to continue to train with the German biomechanical expert.

”We have secured the services of Olympic Games javelin throw gold medallist Neeraj Chopra’s coach Dr. Klaus Bartonietz till the 2024 Paris Games,” the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said.

Bartonietz took charge as Chopra’s coach from compatriot and former world record holder javelin thrower Uwe Hohn during the youngster’s rehabilitation and recovery process after elbow surgery in 2018.

The AFI also said that the 400m coach Galina Bukharina will also remain at the helm of affairs till the end of this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Under Bukharina’s watch, the men’s 4x400m relay team of Mohammed Anas Yahiya, Noah Nirmal Tom, Arokia Rajiv, and Amoj Jacob set an Asian record during the Tokyo Olympics. The AFI had recently presented the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition to the Sports Ministry.