Neeraj to train, compete in Europe
Tokyo Olympics javelin medal hope Neeraj Chopra can finally test himself in international competitions in Europe in the crucial last leg of preparations after his travel was cleared on Sunday.
Chopra will train in Lievin (France) and Uppsala (Sweden), and compete in Sweden and Spain, and in the Diamond League meet in London on July 13. Chopra, accompanied by his German coach and bio-mechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz, and physio Ishaan Marwaha will leave for France on Tuesday. They will have to spend 11 days in quarantine on reaching. He will travel directly to Tokyo from Europe with the Games starting on July 23.
Chopra is starved of international competition for two years and said recently that he can nurse medal hopes merely by training.
Last year, he took part in a single meet, in South Africa in January 2020, where he qualified for the Olympics. He was scheduled to train in Turkey from April but a surge of Covid cases in India dashed those plans with many countries imposing travel and quarantine restrictions on Indians. He also missed out competitions he had planned in Europe, including the opening Diamond League meet in Gateshead.
The sports ministry sought help from the Ministry of External Affairs, and after the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Chopra and his team were issued the Schengen visa.
Chopra is hopeful he can follow his fitness regime in quarantine.
“It was very important to get competitions. It has been a long time since I competed internationally. I hope to travel for competitions in Europe now that I will be based there,” Chopra said.
“I want to thank the sports ministry for this opportunity. It is my turn now to give 100% in training and be fully prepared for Tokyo.”
Chopra competed in two events in India in March—the Indian Grand Prix where he set a national mark of 88.07m and the Federation Cup (87.80m).
The season’s leading thrower, Johannes Vetter of Germany, is in sensational form, having produced five 90-plus throws in April-May—the best being 96.29m last week at the European Athletics Team Championships Super League in Poland.
The Athletics Federation of India is trying to arrange threefour meets for Chopra in the build-up to the Games, it is learnt.
After the Turkey trip did not materialise, Chopra wanted an exposure tour to Sweden and approached the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). He had also planned to compete in Europe.
However, he was not issued a Swedish visa due to the travel restrictions.
“When the possibility of travelling to France came up, we decided to approach the French authorities through MEA. With help from them and intervention of the PMO, the French visa has come through. I am very happy that he will get the exposure he wanted,” sports minister Kiren Rijiju said.
“It is our endeavour to assist every athlete and provide whatever they need to perform better at Tokyo,” he said.