First show, first challenge

Neeraj Chopra's coach hopes for a good start to season, says team is relaxed and positive

Neeraj Chopra in action. (Photo | AFP)

CHENNAI: The first competition of the season is always tricky. It is as intriguing as the randomness of the universe. You don’t really know what your training will translate into. You have a fair idea and you may be the favourite, yet you can’t predict where that javelin will land on that particular day. That’s the beauty of sport and its unpredictability.

The Doha Diamond League, with its share of stars in javelin throw, promises to be just that.

With the entire nation fixed on Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra’s event in Doha on Friday, this newspaper had a short conversation with his coach. Just before going for some light workout with Chopra on Thursday, Klaus Bartonietz sounded relaxed as usual and was looking forward to the season as eagerly as his ward. With the world championships in August and the Olympics next year, the German coach felt that the year would be crucial.

The team – Neeraj, his coach and physio Ishaan Marwah – has been training since December at various venues across the globe starting with the Longborough (United Kingdom last year) then Potchefstroom in South Africa and Antalya in Turkey before going to Doha for the Diamond League. The mood in the camp as always is positive. Relax is one word that is glued to the camp's psyche.

“What else can you do?” Bartonietz laughs. Someone who believes in a relaxed and easy environment, the coach brings that calmness into the room. Even Neeraj acknowledged as much during a conversation last year. “The training has been very good. And if we take into consideration that the athlete remained injury free then it has been particularly good. Neeraj is feeling good and we are hoping for a good season.”

It’s hot in Doha but Neeraj is getting used to the conditions. “There was strong head wind (athlete is running into it) yesterday and some say there might not be wind tomorrow. We don’t know but again we should not be bothered because conditions are the same for everyone.” Yet, as a coach, he has to study each and every aspect of the throw -- from sprinting against the wind to the final release. For him javelin throw is not about brawn but something that is artistic. It's like a symphony where all your senses are in harmony.

The 74-year-old coach felt it would be a good competition. “The field is pretty strong. Four javelin throwers have crossed the 90-m mark,” he said. “Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic (who had a 90.88m last time in Doha) has already started the season with a throw of 88.38m at Potchefstroom. It’s not easy to throw 88m after taking a break.”

However, for the coach, having a good season is always important. “We are positive and had good training and are hopeful of doing well,” he said. The coach, like Neeraj, is expecting to do well at the World Championships later this year. And a long season usually has its associated challenges of training, rest and peaking.

Doha famous for 90m throws: Neeraj

Neeraj too is quite positive. Days before the event during an interaction he had talked about the magical 90m-mark and thought that this would be a good year to put that debate to rest. On Thursday during a press interaction he mentioned about 90m too. “Doha is famous for 90m throws,” he said, alluding to last year when Anderson Peters (who is entered here as well and reigning world champion) threw 93.07m ahead of Yakub, who finished second behind Neeraj at Tokyo Olympics. Just last month during an interaction Neeraj had said he would want to add 6 cm to his personal best of 89.94m.

Besides Peters and Yakub, the other two with 90m throws in fray at Doha are Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott (90.16m and two-time Olympic medallist) and Julius Yego (92.72 in 2015) of Kenya.

During media interactions, Neeraj also drew an analogy with cricket. In a video shared by Diamond League twitter handle, he said that Indian bowlers are also very good and it needs fast arm just like in javelin. "It is a natural talent, I think, and that's very good and a plus point and in future we will find more javelin throwers. Not just in javelin but in athletics. We have good jumpers. It is very good for the country," he said, adding in jest that if he could bowl like he throws javelin, then he will start playing cricket.

Despite starting the season late, Neeraj had had a good year and went on to win the Diamond League title, the first Indian to do so. With a long season this year, he wants to focus primarily on the World Championships at Budapest in August. A good beginning to the season will always give confidence for the rest of the year.