Jaspal Rana, celebrated shooter and coach, passes away aged 49
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New Delhi: Renowned Indian pistol shooter and coach Jaspal Rana, 49, passed away on Friday after falling ill while returning from the ISSF World Cup in Munich, officials said.
Rana, a decorated athlete and one of India’s most successful Commonwealth Games competitors, later switched to coaching and served as the high-performance coach for Indian pistol events. He mentored several leading shooters, including double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, and played a key role in developing talents such as Saurabh Chaudhary, Anish Bhanwala and Chinki Yadav.
Across four Commonwealth Games (1994–2006) Rana won 15 medals — nine gold, four silver and two bronze — and also claimed eight Asian Games medals between 1994 and 2006. His individual honours included the Arjuna Award (1994), the Padma Shri (1997) and the Dronacharya Award (2020) for excellence in coaching.
NRAI President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo mourned Rana’s death, calling it “a huge loss” and praising him as both a champion shooter and an influential mentor.
Rana’s transition from a stellar competitive career to high-performance coaching helped shape India’s pistol shooting programme and left a lasting legacy in the sport.
(Inputs from IANS)