Neeraj heads to South Africa for crucial off-season training

Double Olympic medallist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is heading to Potchefstroom, South Africa later this month for an off-season training stint as he begins preparations for next year's competitions.

The 26-year-old last competed in Brussels in the Diamond League Final in September and will spend 31 days in Potchefstroom.

His training stint will be funded by the Sports Ministry.

"(He) will start his training early and will be in Potchefstroom for a period of 31 days," the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Neeraj's training session will be funded by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) and the expenditure will cover his and his Physiotherapist's lodging, boarding and training cost for the period of his stay in South Africa."

In the past, Chopra has trained in Potchefstroom many times, including ahead of the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

He also took part in a competition there in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. He had finished on top with a throw of 87.86m at the ACNW League Meeting 1 at McArthur Stadium.

Chopra battled an adductor muscle

niggle throughout the year and it also affected his performance at both the Paris Olympics and the Diamond League Final, where he competed with a fractured left hand.

He had earlier spoken about consulting doctors at the end of the season to decide whether to go for a surgery to fix the problem.

But talking to PTI on September 27, he had played down injury concerns and also stated that he will look to improve his technique.

"It was an injury-plagued year but injury is fine now, I will be 100 per cent fit for the new season," he had said.

Chopra, who added a silver medal at the Paris Olympics to his gold won in Tokyo Games three years back, recently parted ways with his German coach Klaus Bartonietz, ending a hugely successful five-year partnership.

ndian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair said that a new coach for Chopra is likely be appointed before the end of the year.

Chopra's main aim next year will be to defend the World Championships gold in Tokyo besides also working hard to hit the 90m mark.

He had won gold in the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary with a throw of 88.17m. He has a personal best of 89.94m, just 6cm short of the 90m mark.

In the Paris Olympics, his silver-winning throw was 89.45m as he bested by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, who broke the Olympic Games record with a 92.97m effort.