Czech great Zelezny comes on board as Chopra's coach

India's double Olympic medallist reached out to world record holder ahead of his fresh season

- Shantanu Srivastava

Neeraj Chopra seems to have received the perfect boost entering into a fresh season. The two-time Olympic and World Championships medallist has joined hands with Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny, who has come on board as the 26-year-old's new coach, Sports Authority of India announced on Saturday.

Triple Olympic and world champion Zelezny also holds the world record (98.48m) for the last 28 years. More importantly, the 58-year-old has been coaching elite javelin throwers from his country. For India's only Olympic track and field champion, it appears a well-thought-out decision as he renews his quest to cross the elusive 90m mark, with a month-long training stint at Pochefstroom, South Africa.

Chopra won a historic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and a silver in Paris, besides two World Championships medals-silver at 2022 Eugene and gold at 2023 Budapest. These successes came under German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz. That association ended after Paris.

The Indian had been expected to announce a fresh coaching tie-up, especially after saying that he was postponing surgery on a persistent groin injury and instead looking to manage the issue going into the fresh Olympic cycle.