New Delhi: Tokyo Olympics Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, who is currently training at Sports Authority of India (SAI) in the Patiala facility, will fly to Turkey for a 44-day training camp to prepare for World Championship in Oregon and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games slated this year.
Chopra had returned to India in the first week of March post his training at Oregon in the United States. He will now fly along with his coach Dr. Klaus Bartonietz and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha to train at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya, Turkey, scheduled from 28th March up until May 11th. He will be flying at the end of this month.
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As reported earlier exclusively by this website, Neeraj's name, along with 25-30 other athletes, has also been mentioned for the training camp at Chula Vista, Oregon (USA) from June 18th to July 13th, which will happen after the camp in Turkey. The training at Gloria Sports Arena will be conducted keeping in mind the packed international competitions including World Championship in Oregon, USA, the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, and the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou (where he is the defending champion).
Neeraj believes that the training camp in Antalya will be crucial for his preparation ahead of the packed schedule of events in 2022. "After my winter training stint in the United States, the exposure trip to Turkey will be an important part of my preparation phase ahead of a challenging 2022 season. I am looking forward to continuing my training and working hard to be in the best shape possible and perform to the best of my abilities in the targeted competitions this year," Chopra said.
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With an estimated cost of INR 22,38,394 that covers the training facility, air tickets, hotel accommodation, air tickets among other provisions, the expenses are entirely covered by the government. Out of pocket allowance of USD 50/day will be directly credited to the athlete’s account. The athlete will be accompanied by their coach who is also funded by the government.
