Neeraj Chopra winning a gold medal is definitely a historic win. He became the second Indian ever to win a gold medal in the individual Olympics after shooter Abhinav Bindra. As India’s javelin thrower along with a gold medal returned to India of course got a lot of attention as he got mobbed at the airport. And not only that he also attended a very important felicitation function and received a billion thank you from all the people of India. And of course, he deserves all this as he made India proud. But in addition to this, his German coaches were even more excited and were busy sharing their excitement on social media.
Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, a 73-year-old and Neeraj Chopra’s biomechanical expert, who coached Neeraj and played an important role in his victory returned to his home after a year and a half. His home is in Oberschlettenbach, which is a small village of 130 residents in Southwest Germany. As he reached his home he got many congratulatory calls from his friends and also his neighbors. Dr. Klaus was really amazed by seeing Neeraj Chopra becoming a sensation as he made India proud. Indeed Dr. Klaus Bartonietz has become a celebrity in his village and while he spoke with Indian Express, he said that he got really amazed by seeing the clips of his boy becoming a sensation and also he was feeling happy and proud as he saw the clip of security surrounding Neeraj. His neighbors were very impressed by the way Neeraj played confidently.Â
Further speaking, Klaus said that earlier he received no phone calls but now the scenario has totally changed as he is getting a lot of calls after Neeraj Chopra’s Olympic win and people ask him about Neeraj Chopra and congratulate him. Not only his friends and neighbors, but other coaches are also calling him up. He said that he feels proud and as well as funny as he saw things changing overnight.
It was not only Dr. Klaus who got such a warm and grand welcome from his neighbors, India’s head coach for javelin, Uwe Hohn from Germany also received a grand welcome when he returned to his hometown Rheinsberg. The small town with 8000 residents is now talking about Neeraj Chopra’s win and it has become a sensation there too. As Hohn spoke to Indian Express, he said when he met his mother and sister, they all together discussed Neeraj Chopra’s performance in the Olympics and appreciated it. He further said that social media now has many congratulatory messages for Neeraj Chopra and Hohn feels that Neeraj Chopra deserves all this love and honor for his success. Hohn stated that when he came to India he saw that the biggest talent had no coach and therefore he got Klaus to India. He further said that he got impressed as Dr. Klaus did a good job and he saw the improvement in the technique of Neeraj. Hohn is one of the greatest javelin throwers of the generation, and he is the only javelin thrower who has made a world record by throwing over a hundred meters, and he has been coaching Neeraj Chopra from his early days. Hohn played a great role in coaching Neeraj Chopra during Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. And indeed with the help of Hohn too, Neeraj Chopra has become such a good javelin thrower and won a lot of trophies and medals.
Dr. Klaus Bartonietz will return to India by the end of September and Hohn on the other hand is waiting and is looking forward to an interesting 2022 World championship, Commonwealth Games, and Asian games.
