New Delhi: Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra will train in Turkey to prepare for the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Chopra and his physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha will travel directly from his current training base in Johannesburg to Antalya while his coach Jai Choudhary will join them from Delhi.
The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) on Thursday approved Chopra’s training camp at Gloria Sports Arena, Turkey, and has sanctioned a financial assistance of ₹35,83,930 towards 55 days of training, starting April 1.
Besides, the Sports Ministry also sanctioned a total of ₹57 lakh to Chopra to cover the salaries of both Ishaan and coach Choudhary for one year, starting February 1, 2026. Ishaan has been Chopra’s personal physiotherapist since 2017, supporting performance, recovery and injury prevention.
Chopra likes to open his season at the Doha Diamond League, scheduled for May 8, but it remains to be seen whether the marquee event can be held amid the ongoing war in West Asia. The Gymnastics World Cup, scheduled to take place in Doha in April, was cancelled due to the crisis. Several major sporting events have been postponed or cancelled because of the war, including the Formula One races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Chopra parted ways with Czech coach and javelin legend Jan Zelezny earlier this year. He has joined forces with Chaudhary, who trained him in his formative years. They have been training in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Chopra had a mixed season last year. He breached the 90m mark in Doha but could not defend his world title. He also struggled with back issues before the Tokyo world championships.
MOC has also approved the training plan of Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary. Both will be based in Ooty for off-season high-altitude training under coach Kalyan Chaudhary. The duo was earlier training with Scott Simmons. As part of preparation for major competitions in 2026 including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, financial assistance of ₹3,72,500 has been sanctioned for Sable and Parul for a 46-day training camp in Ooty.
Tennis player Vaidehee Chaudhari who sought financial assistance towards participation in international tournaments, which includes participation in ITF women’s tournaments across Australia, Africa, Europe and the USA, has got a go ahead.
She is being supported by the government under the Target Asian Games Group (TAGG). TAGG sanctioned support for her, covering approximately 50 competition days during the March-May period, in the build-up for the Asian Games. The MOC has approved financial assistance of ₹14,01,550 for her, which covers key expenses including travel, tournament participation and equipment for events.
