Indian shooting great Jaspal Rana dies aged 49

Indian shooting legend Jaspal Rana, an Asian Games gold medallist who later coached Manu Bhaker to her historic double bronze-medal performance at the Paris Olympics, has died at the age of 49, News.Az reports, citing ESPN.

According to National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, Rana passed away at a hospital in Delhi on Thursday night.

Rana had recently undergone a medical procedure after falling ill during the Indian contingent’s return flight from the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany. Upon landing in New Delhi, he was immediately hospitalised and underwent a procedure to have a stent inserted.

After a decorated career as an elite shooter, Rana transformed Indian shooting through his roles as junior national team coach and high-performance trainer. Rana last served as the high-performance coach for Indian pistol shooters.

His coaching contributions include mentoring Manu and helping her secure a double bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a junior pistol coach since 2012, he has been instrumental in guiding shooters like Saurabh Chaudhary and Anish Bhanwala.

His work with the junior programme has created a pipeline of international talent. The NRAI had officially appointed him as the High-Performance coach for the 25m pistol discipline. Rana is credited with instituting rigorous training routines that perfectly replicated the pressure of actual Olympic matches.

For his contributions to the sport and the development of the next generation of shooters, he was given the Dronacharya Award in 2020.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev