Jaspal Rana, 49, played a key role as Manu Bhaker personal coach. She won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He passed away on June 12 in Delhi.

Jaspal Rana was passionate about shooting. He was a teenage prodigy who made pistol shooting popular in India with his stellar performances in international competitions.

He burst onto the scene by winning multiple medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and after ending his glorious international career, he turned to coaching. There too, he produced champion shooters. Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary were from the first batch of the national junior programme that he was overseeing.

Later, Jaspal played a key role as Manu’s personal coach as she won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics.

During my long years as a sports journalist, I developed a close bond with Jaspal. He always had an opinion about young Indian shooters and how to develop the sport in India. Since I am also a shooter and compete in national events, I would call Jaspal for suggestions or to check my weapon for a malfunction, like I did a fortnight before the 63rd National Shooting Championships held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, in the 2019-20 season. I was facing a problem with my air pistol, and I called Jaspal. “I’m in Bhopal, will fix the issue. Don’t worry,” was Jaspal’s response.

When I met him in Bhopal, he was eager to have a look at the weapon. “Nothing can be done immediately before the match. Even if I make minor changes, it will impact your scores. I suggest we make adjustments after the match.”

Agreed! Post-match, I reached out to Jaspal again, requesting him to check the pistol and, if necessary, make some adjustments to the grip. “Yes, I will do it when I’m in Delhi,” he told me.

I met Jaspal several times after the Bhopal national meet, but it always slipped my mind to take the pistol and ask him to re-examine the grip.

I last met him earlier this year at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. “I like the way you focus on your job while taking videos,” was his quick response.

Jaspal was a member of the coaching staff at the recently concluded ISSF World Cup in Munich. On his arrival in Delhi, he reportedly felt uneasy and was hospitalised due to a heart ailment.

Today, when the news broke of his passing, I just couldn’t stop myself from recalling the endless conversations we had about the sport.

EOM