Why did Neeraj Chopra part ways with long-time coach Klaus Bartonietz?

The story of the parting of javelin ace Neeraj Chopra and septuagenarian German coach Klaus Bartonietz, the father figure in his camp over past five years, had been quite a talking point for the past few days. This clearly signals that like most world class athletes in different disciplines who are not loathe to take tough decisions, the two-time Olympic medallist and world champion has decided to move on.

It comes as a bit of a culture shock for the Indian sports fan as one is not accustomed to a successful coach stepping aside, irrespective of the reason, making space for the champion to look for fresh direction. This is precisely what Bartonietz did when the 75-year-old, who took over from compatriot and javelin ace Uwe John in 2019, cited his advancing age and family commitments.

He (Bartonietz) told us he had done the best he could and it was time for Neeraj to work with a (new) coach who could elevate his game further,” confirmed Adille Sumariwala, president of Athletics Federation of India (AFI). A professional call on the face of it, though the athlete’s own words suggest there is more between the lines. 

During the German’s tenure, Chopra won the historic Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020, a Diamond League title in 2022 and gold medals at the World Championships and Asian Games in 2023. His consistency at marquee events was simply amazing, but the 2024 season saw a string of second-place finishes at the Doha Diamond League, the Paris Olympics, the Lausanne Diamond League and the Brussels Diamond League Final.

Was it the groin injury which left him somewhat undercooked for Paris or the chipped bone in the hand in the post-Olympics phase which saw Neeraj’s performance taking a slight dip? At 26 and with a number of unscaled peaks in a sparkling career, he did not pull any punches as he looked back at the 2024 season.

“We see many times that we are following the same plan and doing the same workout. It appears to me that I must bring in some change,” he reasoned, before adding: “There was a German shot putter who said: Don’t expect different results if you are doing the same work. I now believe I have to change my workout and my mindset. I think it can make a difference.”

It looks an amicable parting of ways, quite in contrast to Uwe John’s acrimonious departure following his differences with the AFI top brass. A five-year association between a coach and his star ward speaks volumes about their chemistry as well as continuity – unlike the recent example of someone like P.V.Sindhu who had been changing the coaching personnel too frequently in the last two years with Anup Sridhar the latest to take charge after failure to add a third Olympics medal in Paris.

Novak-Goran split

Looking for parallels in other sport, one does not have to look farther than Novak Djokovic, the tennis icon with 24 slams under his belt, who parted ways with Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year with a short message on Instagram. Remember, Djokovic’s association with the Croat and former Wimbledon champion since 2018 (along with long-time mentor Marian Vajda) had yielded a golden phase in the Serbian’s career when he added as many as 12 slams and a number of finals.

Ivanisevic had taken over formally as his coach in 2022 but Djokovic ended the relationship with the note: ‘’Goran and I decided to stop working together a few days ago. Our on-court chemistry had its ups and downs, but our friendship was always rock solid.’’

Back to Neeraj, now that the international calendar is over for him as Bartonietz’s contract not being renewed, he will be going back to the drawing board. The World Championships come back in less than a year’s time in Tokyo where he has a title to defend while India’s greatest ever athlete wants to address the niggle which had been bothering him from keeping his date with the 90 metre mark as well.

On at least two occasions in past couple of months, Neeraj was overshadowed by 90m-plus throws, which must have surely hurt his ego. In Paris, Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem took the wind out of his rival’s sails with a throw of 92.97m to claim the gold. Later at the Lausanne Diamond League, the Indian star finished second behind Anderson Peters of Grenada who logged 90.61m.

Neeraj, whose personal best is 89.94m set at the Stockholm Diamond League two years ago, had recorded three throws in the 89m range this year, including the error-prone night at the Olympics which brought him the silver.

A new mentor and a body on the mend is what he will be looking for in pursuit of the fresh goals in 2025.