Neeraj Chopra's coach to step down, ending successful partnership to be with family
The 75-year-old coach Klaus Bartonietz and Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra of India, a legendary German-Indian combination, are about to part ways as the former feels it's time to spend more time with his family in his native country. After the current season, Bartonietz, who helped Chopra make history by winning an Olympic gold medal, two World Championship medals, and an Asian Games gold, will be leaving.
Bartonietz originally became a part of the Indian athletics team as a biomechanic in 2019 and later served as a coach to Chopra when Uwe Hohn had a dispute with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the Sports Authority of India. Even though Bartonietz was not keen on remaining as a coach until 2021 because he has crossed the age of sixty, he accepted to be a part of it for another term at the insistence of the AFI. However, as he approaches his 76th birthday, he has made the decision to eventually retire and return to his hometown in the middle of October.
"Coach Klaus Bartonietz won’t continue with Neeraj Chopra or the Indian athletics team after this season. He wants to spend more time with his family," stated AFI chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair. Up until May 2022, he instructed javelin coaches and trained other athletes in the sport. Although he hasn't made up his mind, we had hoped he would continue to coach young athletes."
At training camps and major tournaments, Bartonietz has always supported Chopra by offering great technical advice and support for the mental domain. Bartonietz once stated about Chopra, "He is a very hard worker and mentally tough." Neeraj is as aware of his body and the situation as a Formula One driver is of every detail of their vehicle."
Bartonietz has essentially been instrumental in India's winning a myriad of laurels globally with Indian athletes, and his association with Chopra has been pivotal to the amplification of Indian athletics, not only on the domestic circuit but at the world level as well. With Bartonietz leaving, the onus will be on the future for the AFI, but the German coach's outstanding inputs to India's javelin program shall live to be remembered.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
