Government sanctions Neeraj’s request to train in Finland’s Kuortane Olympic Training Centre ahead of Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra.

Khel Today Bureau

New Delhi: India’s Olympic Gold Medallist Neeraj Chopra is set to switch his training base from Turkey and will fly out to Finland for the same on Thursday, May 26th.

Neeraj, who is currently training at Turkey’s Gloria Sports Arena, is scheduled to fly out on May 26th and would train in Finland’s Kuortane Olympic Training Centre till June 22nd. The Kuortane OTC offers Olympic-level indoor and outdoor facilities for athletes and is currently also the training base for Paralympics Gold Medalist Devendra Jhajharia.

From Kuortane Neeraj will then head out to Turku to participate in the Paavo Nurmi Games, followed by Kuortane Games in Kuortane and then Diamond League in Stockholm.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has also reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to ensure that Neeraj and his team do not face any issues during their stay in Finland and the MEA in their response has also assured SAI that the Indian Embassy in Helsinki would be available for any assistance if required.

The four-week (28 days) training camp has been sanctioned by the government’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) and would cost the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) Rs. 9.8 lakhs approximately.

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.