Neeraj Chopra: It’s an honor to train with Jan Zelezny

Neeraj Chopra won an Olympic silver medal in the javelin throw at the Paris Games and fell one place short of the podium at Tokyo 2020. In 2025, the Indian athlete will attempt to defend his world title in Tokyo. This time, his coaching staff will once again be led by world record holder Jan Zelezny. In November, Neeraj Chopra announced that he would be working with the legendary Czech from now on.

“Growing up, I admired Jan’s technique and precision and spent a lot of time watching videos of him”, said Neeraj Chopra in an interview with the World Athletics website. “He was the best in the sport for so many years and I believe working with him will be invaluable because our throwing styles are similar and his knowledge is unmatched. I am honored to have Jan by my side as I move to the next level of my career, and I can’t wait to get started”, added he.

Jan Zelezny, of course, has achieved a different level in his javelin career: three Olympic titles, three world titles and a world record holder at 98.48m since 1996. He is also responsible for 34 of the 127 throws of 90m and over that have been made by 24 men so far.

“I like Neeraj Chopra’s story. I see a lot of potential because he is young and can improve”, said Jan Zelezny.

And the goal for the star-studded tandem is for Neeraj Chopra to become the 25th member of the “90m Club”.