In the Indian sporting pantheon, Dr. Klaus Bartonietz deserves a special place. It was his successful partnership with Neeraj Chopra that fetched the latter back-to-back Olympic medals along with multiple other moments of glory at World Championships, Asian Games and Diamond Leagues. The biomechanics expert from Germany was instrumental in finessing an extraordinary talent and as his long-term coach, pushed Neeraj to heights unattained by any other Indian athlete. That partnership ended last year as the 76-year-old Bartonietz wanted to spend more time with his family but his relationship with India is not done yet.
Bartonietz is now a consultant for JSW's Inspire Institute Sport and was recently at their Hisar centre 'helping the coaches and develop athletes in India'. It's a job that is less intensive than his previous one -- typically his stay in India would range between one and two weeks, but for young and upcoming throwers as well as for the coaches, it's a great opportunity to share space with him. The good news is that Bartonietz himself is optimistic about the talent but of course more needs to be done.
"I see that there's talent around. Just bring them to training, bring them into some structure. I was with the coaches at the javelin training centre in Bangaon (close to Hisar), where there are several top (junior level) Indian javelin throwers, training under rural conditions in a school. They do a lot of things themselves. It's not to compare with any international training centres, but still they can produce results," Bartonietz told ESPN India.
The javelin academy in Bangaon has produced the likes of Jyoti and Deepika who won continental medals at the under-18 level and are now ready to make a jump to the senior level. Bartonietz will also be working with Himanshu who recently clinched javelin gold at the Asian U-18 Athletics Championship in Saudi Arabia.
For Bartonietz, a world class coach comes in later. First, the onus is on the grassroot local coaches to find the talent. That is something Hanuman Singh, who runs the academy in Bangaon, has been doing over the years.
"First, we should find them, make them interested and (educate them) about the possibilities. In their village (in Bangaon), there's a training ground but of course it's not synthetic. There are also limitations like when it rains, you cannot walk on the grass. You need interested people and it's the (local) coaches who do that," Bartonietz said.
Talent identification is important, but for Bartonietz, developing infrastructure is also crucial. The infrastructure he talked about is not only limited training facilities but more local tournaments and involvement from fans.
"I see the potential, but they must develop infrastructure, like I see in Europe, the US high school and universities, who put a lot of effort in competing against each other. When we have athletic competitions here, there are no visitors. It's ridiculous, not being able to bring people in, even if the entrance is free. But on the internet or social media...crazy but why not bring them to the stadium?" he asked.
It is certainly the truth. Only last month, the Federation Cup ended up being a farce thanks to the Athletics Federation of India's choice of venue. Athletes braved Kochi's heat and humidity to compete in a nearly empty stadium for four days.
For long, Bartonietz stressed on the importance of developing the mental side of things. In fact, he had once said that for athletes, especially during the competitions, it's 90 percent mental and only 10 percent physical.
"The mental thing is the most important thing. It all happens in the head...what the muscles are doing, how the body is moving, it comes from here (pointing to the head). It's what we are not addressing. We see that something is wrong with the foot but no, it's here (head)," he said.
The mental aspect, according to Bartonietz, will improve once the athletes consistently take part in tournaments and start feeling the pressure. That's why it's important for younger athletes to participate in quality events and for that, the local infrastructure must play a big role.
I write this without knowing where to begin.
Coach, you are more than just a mentor to me. Everything you taught has helped me grow both as an athlete and person. You have gone out of your way to make sure I was mentally and physically prepared for every competition. You stood... pic.twitter.com/kJxaPqmHmm
- Neeraj Chopra (@Neeraj_chopra1) November 6, 2024
Bartonietz made his trip to India as his former student breached the 90m mark for the first time. Neeraj is now training under legendary javelin thrower Jan Zelezny, who was with the Indian when he threw 90.23m at the Doha Diamond League, finishing second behind Julian Weber. Neeraj will now look to increase the mark in the ongoing season, something Bartonietz is sure of. More than the 90, the former coach is happy that Chopra is now injury-free and is running and throwing freely.
Chopra and Bartonietz's partnership certainly set the base for the 90m, but the German coach is gracious to share the credit with others. "He had other coaches before who walked with him and who gave the base for each results...the performance pyramid. So, yeah, (I knew) one day it will come. Anyway, it's just a number."