Jaspal Rana
India’s great shooter and national team hyperperformance coach Jaspal Rana passed away in Delhi on Thursday night. At the age of just 49, he suddenly died of a silent heart attack during his sleep. Jaspal Rana was not only famous for his shooting in the shooting range, but he also created history by fighting a big battle for the young shooters of the country. Especially after the implementation of GST in 2017, his voice proved to be the most effective against the taxes imposed on shooting equipment. Not only shooters benefited from this, but players of many other sports who have to import their equipment from other countries, all got the benefit of removal of GST.
Rifles, pistols, shotguns, cartridges and other equipment used in shooting sports in India are imported from foreign countries. Due to the imposition of GST, the financial burden on players, especially shooters, had increased.
Jaspal Rana’s campaign against GST
When the new GST slabs came into effect in July-August 2017, pistols and revolvers were taxed at 28%, rifles and cartridges at 18% and other essential shooting gear or equipment at 12%. Jaspal Rana, who was the head coach of the Indian junior pistol team at that time, called it a “fatal blow” to the Olympic medal prospects. He said that high-end shooting equipment is not made in India, it has to be imported from Germany and Italy. In such a situation, how will talented players from economically weaker families represent the country? Jaspal Rana raised the question, “How can an athlete who takes loan and shoots buy such expensive items?”
Jaspal Rana was also active as the Chairman of Delhi State Rifle Association (DSRA). He united the entire shooting community along with journalists. Then the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) placed the matter before the Finance Ministry. Because of this vocal voice of Jaspal Rana, the matter reached everyone. Ultimately his efforts brought about a change and significant relaxation in GST and custom duty on imported sports equipment was given to the reined players i.e. those who achieved minimum qualification in Nationals.
Issue raised in the House also
Jaspal Rana raised the issue and then the then Senior Vice President of NRAI and Lok Sabha MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo raised this issue in the House during zero hour in August 2017. He clearly said that such a heavy tax will destroy India’s Olympic medal chances. Olympic silver medalist and former Minister of State for Sports, Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore acted as the strongest bridge at the government level. He made frequent representations to the Finance Ministry and advocated for complete removal of GST and custom duty for reanimated athletes.
Raninder Singh, who was then president of NRAI, ran the entire campaign at the institutional level. He collected data from all the state rifle associations and submitted a detailed report to the GST Council on how the 18-28% tax is stunting the development of junior players and could be fatal for the sporting future of the country. India’s first individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra stressed that elite sports equipment is not a luxury but an essential development tool. His voice created strong opinions in favor of new emerging talents.
Players got exemption
London Olympics bronze medalist and coach Gagan Narang raised the problem of middle-class and intermediate level players, who were not yet eligible to come in the reins shooter category. He termed the combined effect of GST with custom duty as paralysis. Due to the collective efforts of all of them, the government had to change its decision and exempted GST and custom duty on imported sports equipment for ‘Rebound Shot’ shooters and other eligible players also. This relaxation saved India’s grassroots shooting structure and laid the foundation for today’s historic international medals. But Jaspal Rana was the first big name who raised this issue publicly and created a reaction against GST at the grassroots level.
Experts believe that this campaign started by Jaspal Rana saved the grassroots shooting structure of India and his contribution is important in the foundation of the international medals that India is winning today.
Jaspal Rana recently returned from the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany. He had chest pain, when the problem increased after reaching Delhi, he was admitted to Max Hospital in Saket. Doctors had put in a stent and declared his condition stable and preparations were underway for discharge. But he died suddenly on Thursday night due to cardiac complication (cardiac rupture). Jaspal Rana’s demise is an irreparable loss in the Indian shooting world. He was not only an excellent coach and player, but was also a true sympathizer of young shooters, for whom he raised his voice against the tax system. His legacy will now live on in future generations of players.
