The glorious partnership between Neeraj Chopra and his German coach Dr. Klaus Bartonietz is set to end, in mid-October.

Under the mentorship of Bartonietz, the ace Indian javelin thrower, clinched the first-ever Olympic gold medal in track & field event for the nation at Tokyo 2020 and clinched a silver at the Paris 2024.

The German was first introduced to Chopra as a biochemical expert and later took over as his coach after Uwe Hohn fell out with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“Coach Klaus Bartonietz won’t continue with the Indian athletics team and Neeraj Chopra after this season. He is returning to his hometown in mid-October,” Athletics Federation of India chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair told The Indian Express.

“Till May 2022, he was also involved in coaching other javelin athletes also and also conducting courses for javelin coaches. The reason is that he is nearly 76 years old and he wants to stay with his family. He was not willing to continue after 2021 but we requested him and he agreed. But this time he is going back”.

It is reported that the AFI is interested in keeping Bartonietz for a junior program, with the German still to take a call. He was hired by the athletics governing body in 2019 and believed in Chopra’s mentality.

“He is a very hard worker. Also, you have to be mentally strong, otherwise you are not going to win at big events. He is not overconfident but realistic. He never talks nonsense and never makes a big noise. Like a Formula One race driver who understands the power, engine speed and everything about the car, Neeraj understands the event and his body,” Klaus said.

The partnership also brought India a gold and silver medal each from the World Championships besides a gold from the Asian Games.