Tokyo Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra to shift training base from Patiala to Turkey this month 

Tokyo Olympic men’s javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra will skip next month’s 25th National Federation Cup in Kerala, a senior official of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said on Tuesday.

To prepare for the packed 2022 season, the star Indian athlete practiced for nearly three months at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, USA. The 24-year-old returned earlier this month and is currently training at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala, Punjab, with foreign expert Klaus Bartonietz.

Since he will fly to Turkey at the end of this month for a training-cum-competition tour, he won't compete at the season’s opening domestic track and field event. It is scheduled to be held in Kozhikode from April 2-6, the AFI official added.

“Having a training base in Turkey will be an advantage for Chopra as it will be easier for him to travel to other European countries for competitions,” the AFI official told Sportskeeda. “There are three major competitions, including the Asian Games later this year in China that Chopra is expected to compete in.”

However, it is uncertain at the moment how many build-up competitions Chopra will be competing in before the World Championships to be held in Eugene from July 15-24.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8 and Hangzhou Asian Games from September 10-25 are the other two major competitions of the season.

While the senior AFI official wasn’t able to provide more details about Chopra’s schedule this year, the javelin thrower looks doubtful for the Doha Diamond League on May 13.

The 2016 World U20 champion's main focus this year is to crack the 90-meter barrier, apart from defending his titles at the Commonwealth and Asian Games. While his personal best and national record of 88.07m was recorded last year in Patiala, his gold medal-winning throw at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was 87.58m.