21-05-2025
Neeraj Chopra's former coach Klaus Bartonietz back in India to guide coaches and mentor budding throwers
The contrast between Hisar in Haryana and Oberschlettenbach, a village in south-west Germany, is stark. The latter is home to just 130 residents, has scenic hiking trails, forested mountains and old castles. The summers are pleasant. Hisar has a population of over three lakh, a bustling city centre with temperatures touching 43 degrees centigrade in May.
For biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz, better known as Neeraj Chopra's coach before the legendary Jan Zelezny took over earlier this year, Oberschlettenbach is home. He returned to the German village when his successful partnership with Chopra ended last October, after fetching two Olympic and two World Championship medals.
Seven months later, the 72-year-old is in India as a coaches' coach at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) centre in Hisar, formed via an MoU with the Sports Authority of India (SAI). October to mid-April was a welcome break for Bartonietz. 'There's no traffic in Oberschlettenbach. In the middle of the village, water comes out of a fountain, we drink that water. We went to the forest to cut firewood. In March and April, we plant potatoes,' Bartonietz said about his life away from coaching.
With wife Luba, he also travelled halfway across the world to meet their daughter and her family in Queensland, Australia. His son works in the IT industry in Hamburg. In the mid- 1970s, as a 25-year-old, Bartonietz met Luba, a 20-year-old Russian gymnast, in Dombai, in the foothills of the Caucasus mountains. They have been married nearly four decades.
But after the break at home and the extended holiday Down Under, Bartonietz got the itch to coach again. Luba realised Bartonietz was getting restless. It was around this time that IIS president Manisha Malhotra offered him the role of a consultant in Hisar. 'Manisha had the idea. Don't let him go so easily out of India. Let him come back and help us to work with our younger throwers. So we thought about such a project,' Bartonietz told The Indian Express.
Among the javelin throwers in Hisar is Deepika, a silver medallist at the 2022 Asian Under-18 Championship, and Jyoti, a former junior national gold medallist. Himanshu, the current Asian Under-18 javelin champion, is also one of the trainees. Bartonietz guides the coaches who train 21 throw-events athletes.
He has been at Hisar for less than a week and returns home on Friday to complete coaching assignments he had signed up for earlier. The short visit to the Haryana town is like a recce, to figure out what he is getting into as a long-term consultant of the throws programme.
'There are five or six athletes who are at a very good level and require very sophisticated coaching so their talent is not wasted. It unfortunately happens too often, everywhere in the world,' Bartonietz said.
The veteran coach is particularly impressed by the medal-winning potential and backstory of Jyothi and Deepika from Bangaon, a village nearly 50 kilometres from Hisar, where physical education teacher Hanuman Singh set up a javelin academy. 'They are already the best in India in their age group. There is no synthetic track in their academy, Next to them, buffaloes go swimming. The good thing is these are kids of farmers, so they get a good environment, healthy food and buffalo milk,' Bartonietz said.
He is following the East German philosophy, where a coach is responsible for an athlete. Others, like consultants, can advise the coach but not the athlete directly.
'I, as an outsider, cannot interfere with the process. I have to speak to the coach and then the coach says, 'okay, maybe we do it this way'. With the coaches here (in Hisar), we have already become like a team. I discuss my observations with them.'
Bartonietz may take up a direct coaching role for athletes who have the potential to excel at a higher level, Manisha said.
'Ideally, we would like Klaus to train the trainers or coaches because they are the ones who will be there on a day-to-day basis. When you work with developmental athletes, they don't need a coach of Klaus's level. Biomechanics comes at an elite stage. If there are athletes who he thinks can reach the Olympic level, then next time he comes, he could have specialised sessions with them,' she told The Indian Express.
The aim is to boost the talent pool, so the next potential Chopra does not slip through the net.
'We are going to Bangaon and the surrounding areas, to the clubs, the academies to get them more aligned. You have to reach out to as many people as you can. We have a team in Hisar that goes around talent-scouting,' Manisha added.
While he focuses on the next generation, Bartonietz is still in touch with his famous ward. When Chopra was promoted as honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army, he sent a congratulatory message.
He, however, steers clear of talking tactics with Chopra but is glad that he not only broke the 90-metre barrier at the Doha Diamond League but is also free of the groin problem. Behind the scenes, Chopra's long-time physio Ishaan Marwah, has worked wonders, Bartonietz said.
'It has taken a lot of sophisticated work with his physio. Only a healthy athlete can perform well. It's a good beginning (to the season). Now he knows what he can do. We used to jokingly say it is just a number, But still it (90 metres) is in your head. If he's well prepared, he'll be able to throw 90 metres again,' the German said.
