Neeraj Chopra announced on Saturday that men's javelin world record holder Jan Zelezny would be his new coach, with the collaboration between the two set to begin at a winter training camp in Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Neeraj had been on the lookout for a new coach following the retirement of his long-time German coach Klaus Bartonietz, who had been in his corner both at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. He has now zeroed in on the man who's thrown a javelin farther than anyone else has under the current regulations.
Zelezny is a three-time Olympic gold medallist (1992, 1996 and 2000) and a three time world champion (1993, 1995, and 2001). He also won a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics. Zelezny holds five of the nine best javelin throws of all time, including the world record of an astonishing 98.48m (in comparison, Neeraj's best is 89.94m).
Neeraj approached the legendary Czech a few weeks ago, and the fallout has also been a split between Jakub Vadlejch and Zelezny after 14 years of their partnership.
"Growing up, I admired Jan's technique and precision and spent a lot of time watching videos of him. He was the best in the sport for so many years, and I believe that working with him will be invaluable because our throwing styles are similar, and his knowledge is unmatched. It's an honour to have Jan by my side as I push towards the next level in my career, and I can't wait to get started," Neeraj said.
Zelezny said that Vadlejch and him agreed to split ways after they couldn't reach an agreement for Neeraj to also train in the group alongside the Czech who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. However, Zelezny was delighted with the new addition to his training group.
"That made me happy because I talked about [Neeraj] as a great talent many years ago, at the beginning of his career. I also saw a great benefit for the other members of my group, in which the best javelin throwers in the world would motivate each other and everyone would benefit from it. I told the group about both of my intentions: to lead the elite training group for two more years - and not the entire Olympic cycle - and to welcome Neeraj Chopra into the group. Kuba subsequently decided to leave the group," Zelezny was quoted as saying on the Czech Athletic Federation's website.
He also added that if he were to coach anyone from outside Czechia, his first choice was always Neeraj, because he liked his story and he saw potential, as the Indian is still young and has plenty of room for improvement.
Zelezny also added that when he saw Neeraj very early in his career, he was great possibilities for top results. Now it's his responsibility to help the two-time Olympic medallist deliver more of those results.