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India’s Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra will practice at Loughborough University in England for two months to prepare for the 2023 World Athletics Championships and Asian Games.
The 24-year-old Olympic javelin throw champion and his coach Klaus Bartonietz, a German javelin expert, will leave next week for the international exposure tour, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said in a statement.
The off-season camp for Chopra and his coach was approved by Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) during its meeting held on Friday.
Neeraj Chopra had an outstanding 2022 season, winning silver at the Eugene World Championships in July and culminating with a Diamond League Trophy in September in Zurich.
Neeraj Chopra not the only Indian athlete set for exposure tour
While Neeraj Chopra will practice in England, promising javelin thrower Rohit Yadav will train in Patiala. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has shortlisted Yadav and three others, including Sahil Silwal, for a four-month-long national camp starting November 23.
Meanwhile, India’s leading women’s javelin thrower and 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Annu Rani will practice in Offenburg, Germany for a month.
The 30-year-old from Uttar Pradesh had a string of outstanding performances, including the 63.82m throw in May during a domestic competition in Jamshedpur. But the seasoned thrower wasn’t able to produce her best at the Eugene World Athletics Championships held in July in Oregon.
The MOC has also approved an international exposure tour for Kidambi Srikanth and his coaching staff for 29 days to practice in Indonesia. The Indian shuttler played a key role in India's historic Thomas Cup win last year. Along with Lakshya Sen, Kidambi might be India's biggest hope for a gold medal at the Asian Games next year.
India’s 86kg freestyle wrestler Deepak Punia's proposal to practice in Michigan, USA, for 34 days has also been approved by the MOC. Last week, the government also gave the nod to an international exposure tour for wrestler Vinesh Phogat to practice in Bulgaria.
