Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's former coach Garry Calvert passes away in Beijing

New Delhi: Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s former coach Garry Calvert, under whom he scripted history by winning the gold medal in the Junior World Championships in 2016 with a world record throw, has died in Beijing. The 63-year-old Calvert, an Australian serving as the Chinese national javelin coach, died of a heart attack in China’s capital on Friday. Under Calvert, who served as India’s javelin coach from February 2016 to April last year, Neeraj won a historic gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Poland, with a throw of 86.48 metres. Neeraj, who is currently training in Finland as part of preparations for the upcoming Asian Games, paid tribute to his former coach, saying he had learnt a lot under the Australian.

Calvert was initially appointed in February 2016 for a two-year tenure but resigned in April last year. He reportedly wanted to revise his contractual terms and extend his tenure till the 2020 Olympics with a 50 percent hike in his salary.