Quest for World Athletics Championships medal takes Neeraj Chopra to Turkey

Neeraj Chopra will be travelling to Antalya in Turkey for a 44-day training stint to prepare for the World Athletics Championships in USA's Oregon and other major multi-sport events this competition season , TOI has learnt. The Tokyo Games gold medallist will be joining a Sports Authority of India (SAI)-sanctioned training camp at the Gloria Sports Arena in Antalya from March 28 to May 11. He will be accompanied by his German coach, Dr Klaus Bartonietz, and physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha. The government will spend Rs 50,000 per day on Neeraj's stay, his six-week long training stint costing Rs 22,38,394. Neeraj had put in a request with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for an off-season training camp, and the same was forwarded to SAI, which cleared the proposal.

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Olympic gold is the ultimate glory for an athlete but star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra says his best is yet to come as he strives to breach the 90m mark in the upcoming top events this year. The 24-year-old Chopra won the men's javelin throw event in Tokyo Games last year with an effort of

"After my winter training stint in the United States, the exposure trip to Turkey will be an important part of my preparation phase ahead of a challenging 2022 season. I am looking forward to continuing my training and working hard to be in the best shape possible and perform to the best of my abilities in the targeted competitions this year," Neeraj told TOI. "This year, I'll be participating in Diamond Leagues, the Worlds, CWG and Asian Games. It's a challenging year for me. I'll be competing in Europe for the majority of this season, so this trip to Antalya will