By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Jun: Pride of Uttarakhand and the golden boy of shooting sports in India, and Padma Shri awardee, Jaspal Rana is no more. He passed away at Max Hospital in Saket, New Delhi today where he was undergoing treatment. He was just 49 years old. His passing marks the end of a remarkable chapter in Indian sport. A legendary shooter, acclaimed coach, Padma Shri awardee and mentor to a generation of champions, Rana was one of the pioneers who transformed shooting from a niche and elite discipline into one of India’s most successful Olympic sports. His untimely demise leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.
Born on 28 June 1976 in Uttarkashi, Rana displayed extraordinary talent from a young age. Educated at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Air Force Station, Tigri Camp, Tughlakabad, New Delhi, Rana entered competitive shooting as a teenager and quickly emerged as one of India’s brightest sporting stars. Guided by his father, Narayan Singh Rana, his first coach and mentor, he developed into a world-class marksman whose achievements brought international recognition to Indian shooting.
It may be recalled that Rana had won gold at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, secured multiple gold medals at various Asian and Commonwealth Games, equalled a world record in the 25m Centre Fire Pistol event, and also accumulated an unmatched haul of 15 Commonwealth Games medals, including nine golds. No one can forget his three gold medals and world record at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
At just 18, he received the Arjuna Award in 1994, and at 21 he was conferred the Padma Shri in 1997, becoming one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious civilian honour. In 2020, his contribution to coaching was recognised with the Dronacharya Award. His event was not part of Olympic Games and he therefore could not participate in the Olympics.
Rana’s sporting success is rooted in a remarkable family legacy. His father Narayan Singh Rana has himself been an accomplished shooter, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer and a commando associated with the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protected former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Later, he became the first Sports Minister of Uttarakhand. Shooting excellence ran through the family. Jaspal’s sister, Sushma Rana, was also an accomplished international shooter in her own right and a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, while his brother Subhash Rana was also a noted shooter.
After retiring from competition, Rana dedicated himself to nurturing future champions. Through the Jaspal Rana Shooting Academy in Dehradun, he trained hundreds of young shooters and played a central role in developing India’s pistol shooting programme. His most celebrated protégé has been Manu Bhaker, whose Olympic success reaffirmed Rana’s reputation as one of the finest coaches the country has produced. His influence also extended to several other national and international shooters.
Though known to be close to the Gandhi family as his father Narayan Singh had also served as SPG Commando for Rajeev Gandhi, the political innings of Rana family began with BJP. Jaspal Rana himself joined the BJP after the 2006 Asian Games and had also contested as the BJP candidate from Tehri Lok Sabha constituency but lost. However, he later developed some personal differences with the BJP and shifted his political allegiance to Congress in 2012 and had also campaigned actively in the assembly elections in Uttarakhand in 2014 and in 2014 in the parliamentary elections. During this period, he is also known to have developed close relationship with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Some years later, Jaspal Rana returned to BJP, perhaps because his father Narayan Singh Rana never left the BJP and he remains a senior BJP leader.
The Rana family is also closely associated with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and it is not just a political association but familial as well. It may be reminded here that Jaspal Rana’s sister Sushma Rana is daughter-in-law of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, having married his son, Pankaj Singh, who is also a prominent BJP leader in UP.
Jaspal Rana’s legacy will endure in the medals he won, the academy he built and the champions he shaped. He inspired countless youngsters to take up shooting and proved that Indians could compete with the best in the world. Under his guidance, numerous shooters went on to win medals at national, Commonwealth, Asian and international competitions. Rana’s influence extended beyond individual athletes and he helped shape India’s emergence as a global force in pistol shooting. His coaching excellence was formally recognised when he was conferred the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 2020, one of the country’s highest honours for sports coaches. While Manu Bhaker remains his most celebrated protégé, Rana also worked closely with several leading pistol shooters, including Saurabh Chaudhary, Anish Bhanwala and Chinki Yadav. His tenure with the junior programme helped create a strong pool of talent that consistently delivered results for India at international competitions.
Rana’s broader legacy lies in the generation of shooters he trained and inspired, many of whom continue to represent India with distinction on the international stage. Had he not gone away so soon, India might well have produced several more Manu Bhakers under his patient guidance and watchful eye. His untimely demise is a huge loss to Uttarakhand, to the country and to the shooting sports itself. It is also a personal loss for Garhwal Post, as the family has since long maintained close ties with Garhwal Post family.
