Indian shooting legend Jaspal Rana dies at 49

• Jaspal Rana, one of the most accomplished Indian shooters, passed away in New Delhi on June 12. He was 49.

• Rana was serving as the high-performance coach for Indian pistol shooters.

• He was born on June 28, 1976 in Uttarkashi.

• He won his first national level gold at just 12 years of age.

• His international breakthrough was the 25m centre fire pistol gold medals at the 1994 Commonwealth and Asian Games.

• The Asiad gold was India’s first in 16 years after Raja Randhir Singh opened the account in 1978.

• Rana’s biggest moment as a shooter came in the 2006 Doha Asian Games when he snared three gold medals and a silver in a sensational performance that included equalling the world record of the time.

• Rana transformed Indian shooting through his roles as a junior national team coach and high-performance trainer.

• His most significant coaching contribution was mentoring Manu Bhaker and helping her secure two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making her the first Indian to achieve such a feat.

• As a junior pistol coach since 2012, he also groomed teen sensations such as Saurabh Chaudhary, Anish Bhanwala, and Chinki Yadav.

• For his immense contribution to the sport, the government conferred on him the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 2020. 

• He was honoured with the Arjuna award in 1994 and the Padma Shri, country’s fourth highest civilian honour, in 1997.

• He also remains India’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete with 15 medals (including nine golds) across four editions.