'He Didn't Trust...': Klaus Bartonietz Berates Shivpal Singh Over Doping Ban

News18

21-05-2025

The German also denounced the environment created in the sport due to doping and condemned athletes who incline towards any form of breakaway from the rules set in place.
German bio-mechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz, who helped Chopra to two medals at the Olympic Games, lambasted Shivpal Singh over his second doping offence that could lead to a lengthy ban of 8 years.
'Disappointed? I don't know. But I'm really pissed off. So stupid," Bartonietz said after 29-year-old Shivpal tested positive for a banned substance in an out-of-competition test earlier this year.
'It shows that you don't trust in this process," the 75-year-old said.
'All those who are doping don't trust that they can reach the top by normal nature of training," he added.
Shivpal, who comes from a proud lineage of javelin throwers, including his father and two uncles, also represented India at the Paris Olympics, during which Neeraj clinched Silver.
'It makes me so angry that they are promoting javelin throw everywhere and coming from a family of javelin throwers and then doing these things," Bartonietz added.
'This is like cheating. And carrying the Indian flag proudly, saying Jai Hind, by cheating. I have no word for this. But the good thing about the Shivpal story is that, he got caught. So, the system is working."
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Bartonietz, briefly worked with Shivpal during his early days in India, when he was brough in to assist the then head coach Uwe Hohn.
'When I came to India, I was like assistant coach to Uwe Hohn because we had 17 athletes and he could not handle it," he said.
'There was Neeraj, Annu Rani and Shivpal, they were at the top and he was travelling around them," he reflected.
'At the same time, no one was coaching them. It was my job to come and to coach them. So Shivpal was with Uwe, but sometimes we worked together," he recalled.
'After Neeraj's surgery, I started to work with Neeraj and coach Uwe was then fully responsible for Shivpal, Annu and the others. Even if you're not a personal coach directly for him…You trusted actually, and you think he trusts you,"
'It means, he didn't trust you anyway," he expressed in an unpleased manner.
'So, even when Shivpal did not come for training four times after he had an evening where he was no more able to train the next day," Bartonietz added.
The German also denounced the environment created in the sport due to the act of doping and condemned athletes who incline towards any form of breakaway from the rules set in place against the culture of doping.
'I had a Kazakh high jumper come to me in Germany and said how can you expect me to be dope free when all the others do it? This is a wrong mindset that these young people have," he concluded.
First Published:
May 21, 2025, 22:01 IST