When India’s first track and field Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was gathering at the airport, attending the VVIP felicitation ceremony and receiving a billion thanks; His two German coaches, in contrast to the solitude, were following the frenzy on their smartphones and on social media.
Returning home after a year and a half, Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, a 73-year-old biomechanical specialist from Chopra, first took a train and later traveled by road to reach Oberschletenbach, a 130-resident remote village in southwest Germany. . While scheduling a long-pending appointment with her family doctor, Bartonitz was delighted to see clips and videos of a safety hoop around her boy, which had turned into a javelin-throwing sensation all night long.
“What is happening with Neeraj in India? this is insane. I know this is a historic medal for India. I got some pictures and I saw that the army (paramilitary) was called in to protect him,” Bartonitz told Indian Express from Oberschlettenbach.
India’s head coach for the Javelin, Uwe Hohn, was also settling in Rheinsberg, meeting with friends and family and keeping an eye on India as well. Hawn is slowly realizing what the javelin gold medal means for a country hungry for Olympic success. In a city with a population of less than 8,000, he has called his mother and sister to talk about Tokyo, India, and gold.
Uwe Hon coached Neeraj Chopra when he won gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.Hone has been on social media to follow India’s emotional welcome for their latest Olympic star. “Yeah sure, Facebook It is full of it,” says Hone Rinsberg. “Right now it is a great time to celebrate Neeraj and his success. Neeraj deserves all these honours. I am hopeful that this will not only affect the javelin throwers but all the athletes of India. I came to India knowing that the greatest talent in the world has no coach. I brought Klaus to India. Well done Klaus. The technique has improved over the past few months to the level that we would have liked to see,” says the man, who held Chopra’s hand when he became an 80m javelin thrower and when he won the Asian Games and Won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games, then he was her coach. .
Away from the hustle and bustle, coaches from the late 1970s, Bartonitz, and Hohn, once an East German star and the only player to cover more than 100 meters, enjoy a break after a job well done. are taking.
In the Oberschletenbach, famous for its hiking trails within a forest that was once a hunting ground for the royals, Bartonitz has become a minor figure. He is getting congratulatory calls. Neighbors watched the men’s javelin throw final at the Tokyo Olympics on television and were curious to know how an Indian as a film-star kept calm and focused on the biggest stage. The most famous throw in Indian track and field history, 87.58 metres, has become the talk of the town at Oberschletenbach.
filled with phone calls
“Earlier there were no phone calls. Some of my neighbors saw him and they were impressed by how he turned (to the coaching staff) and raised his hand (after the second throw) and was so confident the spear would last,” Bartonitz says.
In the country with one of his own greatest javelin throwers in this era, Johannes Vetter, the man who helped fine-tune Chopra’s technique, is gaining recognition. “They are normal people and not sports people who are asking about Neeraj. The coaches I know, the athletes are also called. They saw us on TV, it’s funny how things turn out.”
Neeraj Chopra with biomechanical expert Dr Klaus Bartoniets who helped him win Olympic gold.Bartonietz has been part of the German athletics ecosystem for some time. His one-time student Boris Obergfall was the waiter’s coach at Tokyo 2020. “The funny thing is that his coach was my former athlete. He did very well all the time (up to the Olympics), ”he says.
The coach also compares the cash awards given to Olympic medalists in India and Germany. “Yesterday a friend told me that a gold medalist in Germany would get 20,000 euros (around Rs 17 lakh). The support that Neeraj has received from the government and the sponsors has also been of great importance. Also it’s not only me. The coach when he broke the junior world record was Gary Calvert, and then Uwe (Hohn) coached him when he won the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. There are people whom we do not know. The first teacher or coach in the school to be the first to tell him to throw. He or she must be feeling very proud now.”
By the end of September, Bartonitz is scheduled to return to India. Han also knows that he won’t have much time to be at home. “Soon it will also be time to look forward to an interesting 2022 with the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games,” he says.
But before flying to India, Bartonitz will be on a hiking trail around the village. “It’s actually the largest forest area in Germany. There are a few villages in the middle. The area has a very rich history. The climate is great so it’s also good for growing wine.”
After that he went to see his doctor. “Your body is like your car, you have to examine it before you go on a long ride.”
Which will take Chopra ahead of Olympic gold.
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