With entire country, including prime minister Narendra Modi lauding the 23 year old Neeraj Chopra for winning gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, a statement made by the star athlete’s coach in June month had grabbed the attention of the people. Uwe Hohn, the 58 year old German who is the only man to throw javelin over 100 metres and the coach helped the raise of Neeraj Chopra, said that the training for Olympics were unplanned and complained about the diet not being fit even for the elite athletes.

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“Just spoke to @Neeraj_chopra1 and congratulated him on winning the Gold! Appreciated his hardwork and tenacity, which have been on full display during #Tokyo2020. He personifies the best of sporting talent and sportsman spirit. Best wishes for his future endeavours” PM Modi said in his tweet after the victory of Neeraj Chopra and added “History has been scripted at Tokyo! What @Neeraj_chopra1 has achieved today will be remembered forever. The young Neeraj has done exceptionally well. He played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold. #Tokyo2020”

History has been scripted at Tokyo! What @Neeraj_chopra1 has achieved today will be remembered forever. The young Neeraj has done exceptionally well. He played with remarkable passion and showed unparalleled grit. Congratulations to him for winning the Gold. #Tokyo2020 https://t.co/2NcGgJvfMS

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2021

Just spoke to @Neeraj_chopra1 and congratulated him on winning the Gold! Appreciated his hardwork and tenacity, which have been on full display during #Tokyo2020. He personifies the best of sporting talent and sportsman spirit. Best wishes for his future endeavours.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 7, 2021

However, the statement’s made by Neeraj’s coach during mid June has got resurfaced in Twitter and the government of Modi is being subjected to criticism once again. Uwe Hohn alleged that Sports Authority of India and Athletics Federation of India “did not do enough” to prepare athletes for the mega event. The 58 year old complained about the unplanned training and the poor “diets” even for the elite athletes. The coach also opened about how he was “blackmailed” to sign a contract he was not happy with.

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He credited JSW Sports, the sports promoter that supports the Asian and Commonwealth gold medal winner, as the only reason for Neeraj Chopra’s travel to Europe for trainings and competitions. The coach was keen about SAI and AFI doing nothing about Chopra going to Europe. Talking about the tough conditions in Europe for the training of Neeraj, Uwe Hohn said “I guess it happened (Neeraj going to Europe) with the help of JSW sports. Definitely nothing from SAI or AFI. They both did not do enough to get our athletes to overseas camps or competitions” the coach said while meeting the press at that time.

Uwe also expressed his disappointment over SAI and AFI for ruining his expectation about changing something in India. “When I came to India, I though I could change something but with these people at SAI and AFI, it is too difficult. I don’t if it is lack of knowledge or ignorance.” Uwe said and lamented about how those organisations failed to provide nutritionist for supplements for athletes. “They didn’t give proper stuff even for our top athletes. If we get something we are very happy” he said.

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Uwe went on to express his displeasure over the new contract he signed. He alleged that himself and biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz got blackmailed into signing a contract. “They threatened us of not getting our payment anymore.” Coach said and revealed about the empty words of the government board. “They said they will review our coaching and increase our salaries. Like every other promises, they were only empty words” he said and added that it is not the way to work with people and coaches who desire to get Indian athletes closer their potential.

Source : Indian Express