India’s best pistol shooter and veteran coach Jaspal Rana passed away. On June 11, Rana breathed his last at the age of 49 in a Delhi hospital, leaving his family, friends, students and fans alone in grief. (Photo: PTI)
Jaspal Rana is considered to be the golden star of Indian pistol shooting because he not only won medals on the shooting range himself, but also prepared a new generation as a coach, who won many medals for the country. (Photo: Getty Images)
Jaspal Rana first caught the nation’s attention in 1994, when he won the individual gold medal in 25 meter center pistol at the Hiroshima Asian Games. Then in the same year in the Commonwealth Games, he won 2 gold in 25 meters only. (Photo: Getty Images)
The trend that started from here continued till 2006, where he won dozens of medals. He became the most successful Indian athlete in CWG history by winning 15 medals including 9 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze in the Commonwealth Games. He also has 4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze to his name in the Asian Games. (Photo: Getty Images)
Not only this, at the age of 18, he was also honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award, while in 1998, at the age of 21, he was honored with the Padma Shri. Then in 2020, he was given the Dronacharya Award for coaching. (Photo: Getty Images)
Not only this, under his coaching, star shooter Manu Bhakar created history by winning 2 bronze medals in Paris Olympics 2024. She became the first and only Indian to win two medals in the same Olympics. (Photo: PTI)