Double Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra announced a new collaboration on Saturday with Czech javelin legend Jan Zelezny, who has been appointed as his coach. Chopra spoke of his excitement about the new association saying he had long admired Zelezny’s technique and precision with the javelin and often studied videos of him. “Grew up watching videos of Jan: Not a day passed without me admiring Jan’s technique and precision. He was the best at his sport for many years and I truly believe that working with him will be invaluable. The reason for that is because our throwing styles are almost the same, and his knowledge cannot be matched. It’s an honor to have Jan by my side as I push toward the next level in my career and I cannot wait to get started,” said Chopra.
He didn't know it then, but #NeerajChopra's new coach Jan Železný played a small role in his Gold medal triumph at #Tokyo2020. Watch how! 💪
📹: YouTube #CraftingVictories 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/HF5KYvsORt
— Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) November 9, 2024
The news comes after it was known that he will be going separate ways from former coach Klaus Bartonietz, with whom he had a five-year streak of successes and realized his historic Olympic gold in Tokyo. “Training Uday Chopra has been a great honour,” said Zelezny, adding that he always chose Chopra for training if he was to train outside Czechia. “I have already spoken about Neeraj as a great talent many years ago,” Zelezny began. “When I saw him early in his career, I realized great possibilities for top results. I also said that if I should start to coach somebody from outside Czechia, my first choice would be Neeraj. I like his story and I see big potential, as he is young and able to improve,” Zelezny added.
Zelezny holds the world record of 98.48 meters from 1996, whereas the decorated career that has taken him to an Olympic gold in 1992, 1996, and 2000 besides winning the titles at the World Championship three times in 1993, 1995, and 2001 makes him a better coach. Chopra had yet to breach the century mark of 90 meters while setting a personal best of 89.94 meters at the Diamond League in Stockholm this year 2022, under Zelezny.
Chopra’s training will commence at a winter camp in Potchefstroom, South Africa, with preparation for the 2025 season. As he won silver in Paris and now stands as the runner-up in the Diamond League final, retaining gold at the World Championships is the first goal.