CHENNAI: The weather is cold but bearable in Chula Vista, San Diego (California), where Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra is training. Morning sessions start at around 10am and the evening around 5pm. Despite the scare of the new coronavirus variant, his training is going on fine. The uncertainty over the training venue after December 25 too has been resolved.
The Elite Athletes Training Centre did not have enough room to accommodate him inside their premises after December 25 but the Athletics Federation India (AFI) and Chopra’s team did not want to move him around too much. They have found an apartment close to the training centre that would be convenient for him and has decided that he would continue to train there until March next year. The AFI would want him to train and compete abroad until the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from July 15-July 24.
According AFI president Adille Sumariwalla, Neeraj and his team — coach Klaus Bartonietz and physion Ishaan Marwah — would stay put in Chula Vista for the next two months or so. They are keeping a close watch on the new variant as well and would plan his future programme as the situation demands. “We don’t want him to shuttle between places because of the risks involved,” said Sumariwalla. “We don’t want him to come back to India because of exposure. We would ensure he stays abroad for training and competition till the Worlds. Because of the new variant and Covid scare, we don’t want to take any risk. Well being of our athletes is our priority.”
The AFI is keeping everything flexible because of the fast-changing scenario. “Everyday things change so we have to keep things flexible.” If cases go up or something happens in Chula Vista, then AFI might change his training venue. But they are not very keen to keep him moving from one place to another too much. The AFI chief also said that most of the events he would participate next year would be abroad. Neeraj’s coach Bartonietz had told this newspaper that Neeraj will begin with Doha Diamond League in May before shifting to Europe.
The AFI chief said that despite the new variant threat, the AFI calendar would go as per plan. The South Asian cross country on January 15 too is as per plan. “We are the only federation to have completed our calendar even during Covid year. Our next year’s calendar is as per plan. As of now, the South Asian Cross Country in Nagaland is on. But we are keeping a close watch on the new variant and its danger.” The Sports Authority of India had cleared the proposal on an urgent basis so that he left for US on December 5. An amount of Rs 47 lakh was cleared.