Neeraj Chopra, India’s javelin star, performed a funny trick on his coach Klaus Bartonietz in a special Instagram video. In the video, which featured Neeraj, Bartonietz, and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist made fun of the German, who is slated to leave his current position at the end of the season. The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) engaged Bartonietz as a biometrics expert in 2019, however, he was later appointed Neeraj’s coach after Uwe Hohn resigned.
In the popular video, the trio made their own take on the famous ‘give me my money’ craze. However, Bartonietz was uninformed of Neeraj and Marwaha’s plans. In the video, Neeraj began by saying “Give me my money” while the Marwaha and Bartonietz
clapped. Marwaha repeated the line, and everyone applauded.
No one clapped when it was Bartonietz’s turn, though. This perplexed the German until Neeraj and Marwaha began giggling. “Coach was not ready for this,” Neeraj captioned the video.
Neeraj Chopra’s highly successful association with his long-time instructor Klaus Bartonietz of Germany will come to an end after five years of collaboration.
Bartonietz, 75, cited his age and family commitments as reasons for leaving Chopra. “He (Bartonietz) is 75 years old and wants to spend more time with his family and avoid excessive travel,” an Athletics Federation of India (AFI) official told PTI. Chopra earned gold at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Paris Games under Bartonietz, as well as world and Diamond League titles and an Asian Games gold medal.