Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is set to switch his training base from Turkey to Finland ahead of three track-and-field competitions in Scandinavia - the Paavo Nurmi Games, the Kuortane Games, and the Diamond League (Stockholm).
Neeraj, currently training at Turkey’s Gloria Sports Arena, is scheduled to fly out on Thursday to train in Finland’s Kuortane Olympic Training Centre till June 22.
The Paavo Nurmi Games, one of the biggest track-and-field competitions outside the Diamond League, will start on June 14 and be held in Turku, Finland. Neeraj will square off against Johannes Vetter on day one of the competition.
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) said the “four-week training camp has been sanctioned by the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and would cost the sport ministry ₹9.8 lakh (approx.). From Kuortane, Neeraj will then head out to Turku to participate in the Paavo Nurmi Games, followed by Kuortane Games and then Diamond League in Stockholm,” SAI said.
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“The finance would be used towards expenditure for Neeraj and his coach Klaus Bartonietz’s travel, accommodation, training, local travel, and daily out-of-pocket allowance among other expenditures.”
Neeraj, who has a personal best of 88.07m and won gold in Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.58m, will be taking the field for the first time in 10 months when he competes at the Paavo Nurmi Games. His next event will be on June 18 at Kuortane Games where he had finished third last year. The Kuortane Games will also be held in Finland.
Neeraj is planning to feature in the top-flight Diamond League Meeting in Stockholm on June 30 before heading for the July 15-24 World Championships in Eugene, USA.
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