Jaspal Rana (born 28 June 1976) is an Indian sport shooter and pistol coach.[1] He contested mainly in the 25 m Centre Fire Pistol category. In a major accomplishment at the 2006 Asian Games, Rana won three gold medals and equaled the world record in 25 m Center Fire Pistol, competing in his fourth Asian Games since 1994 Asian Games.[2] Rana is also a Commonwealth Games medalist, winning gold medals at the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Commonwealth Games.[3] One of his most successful events was the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where he won six medals including the gold for Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol.[3]
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Indian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 June 1976 Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 175 cm (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Aarushie Verma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Shooting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 25 metre center-fire pistol 25 metre standard pistol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Uttranchal Rifle Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Now coaching | Manu Bhaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Around 2012, Jaspal Rana started coaching several Indian sport shooters, and since 2018 he has been coaching Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker.[1][4] Rana has been credited for helping Bhaker win double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[5] Rana also coaches at the Jaspal Rana Institute of Education and Technology in Dehradun.
Early life
editJaspal Rana was born in 1976 in a Garhwali family in Uttarakhand.[6] His father Narayan Singh Rana is a 1971 war veteran who served in Indo-Tibetan Border Police and later became the first sports minister of the Uttarakhand in 2000.[6][7] His father was also interested in Shooting sports and was Jaspal's first coach. Jaspal has two siblings Sushma Singh (Rana) and Subhash Rana; both his siblings are also accomplished shooters.[8][9]
Career
editSport Shooter Career
editAt the age of 12, Jaspal Rana made his first accomplishment at his national debut winning a silver at the 31st National Shooting Championship held at Ahmedabad in 1988. His astounding performance earned him huge accolades and appreciation at his very first win. He grabbed his first grand international glory at the 46th World Shooting Championship (Junior Section) with a world record score in Milan, Italy in the year 1994.
Rana won gold medals at several Commonwealth Games including the 1998 Commonwealth Games - Men's Center Fire Pistol, Men's Center Fire Pistol Pairs, 2002 Commonwealth Games - Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol, and 2006 Commonwealth Games in Men's 25m Centre Fire Pistols with Samaresh Jung. His most successful event was 2002 Commonwealth Games at Manchester, where he won six medals.[3]
In the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Rana achieved a major milestone, winning three gold medals and a silver as a 30-year-old shooter competing in his fourth Asian Games, wherein he equaled the world record in 25 m Center Fire Pistol with 590 points.[2]
From 1994 to 2006, Rana won 15 medals, which included 9 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals.[3]
Coaching Career
editAround 2012, Rana started coaching young Indian sport shooters.[10] Since 2018, pistol coach Jaspal Rana has been coaching Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, though Bhaker and Rana briefly parted ways in 2021, but re-united in 2023 to prepare for the 2024 Olympics.[1] Rana was supported by Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha and he developed a rigorous training schedule for Bhaker by replicating the routine of Olympic matches in their daily schedule.[4]
Bhaker has credited coach Jaspal Rana for helping her win double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.[5] Though Bhaker credits Rana for the medals, he said he was just playing his role as a coach, giving his 100% to her training.[10] He further noted that Coaching is his passion and his Dehradun coaching academy was never about making money.[10]
Major achievements
edit- Gold Medal in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima
- Gold medal in Men's 25m Centre Fire Pistol (Pairs) with Samaresh Jung at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
- Gold Medals in 25m Standard Pistol and 25m Center Fire Pistol at the 2006 Asian Games on 7-8 Dec 2006[11]
- While winning the 25 m Center Fire Pistol event, Rana equalled the world record by aggregating 590 points.*
Awards and recognition
editIn 1994, he was awarded Arjuna Award, the second-highest award for achievement in sport, by the Indian government at an age of eighteen, by twenty-one he became Padma Shri.[12]
Political activities
editShortly after the 2006 Asian Games, Rana became a member of the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party and contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Tehri, which he lost to Vijay Bahuguna of Congress. Since 2012, he has focussed on his coaching academy for young sports shooters in Dehradun.[10]
Personal life
editHis family belongs to the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand and is involved in sports and state politics. His father Narayan Singh Rana is a war veteran who became the first sports minister of the Uttarakhand in 2000.[6] He has two siblings Sushma Singh (Rana), who is also the daughter-in-law of Rajnath Singh, an eminent BJP leader and Subhash Rana. Both his siblings are also accomplished shooters.[13][14] He is married to Aarushie Verma, an environmentalist, interior designer and national level shooter in pistol & shotgun.
References
edit- ^ a b c "What's Manu Bhaker's price for chasing the 'beautiful shot'? Coach Jaspal Rana points out a bruise on her hand that will last lifetime". The Indian Express. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ a b "75 years of independence, 75 iconic moments from Indian sports: No 22 - Jaspal Rana's shooting gold medals at 2006 Asian Games". SportsStar. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
75 iconic moments from Indian sports: No 22 - Jaspal Rana's shooting gold medals at 2006 Asian Games
- ^ a b c d "Commonwealth Games: India's most successful athletes at multi-sport events". Economic Times. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
He was a gold medalist at the 1994 Asian Games, 1998 Commonwealth Games, 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2006 Commonwealth Games, and the 2006 Asian Games.
- ^ a b "Manu-Bhaker-and-I-never-discussed-past-differences-says-Jaspal-Rana". Times of India. 6 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
Pistol coach Jaspal Rana, the man behind Manu Bhaker's historic double bronze at the Olympics
- ^ a b "Paris Olympics: How going back to Jaspal Rana as coach revived Manu Bhaker's career". The Indian Express. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
He played a huge role in the medal, it's the sweat and blood of both of us and many more.
- ^ a b c Son Jaspal Rana to campaign for Congress as dad gets BJP ticket
- ^ Denied tickets, BJP MLAs may contest as independents; Cong option open
- ^ Here comes home minister's samdhi
- ^ "Dhanaulti MLA's supporters protest ticket to Rajnath's relative". Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Redemption for coach Jaspal Rana as Manu Bhaker wins bronze". The New Indian Express. 28 July 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ Rana equals world record at Asiad, wins gold
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ Here comes home minister's samdhi
- ^ "Dhanaulti MLA's supporters protest ticket to Rajnath's relative". Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- Rana equals world record at Asiad, wins gold Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- Exclusive Interview of Jaspal Rana after his 3 Gold haul in Doha, Qatar Games Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
External links
edit- http://www.issf-sports.org/shooters/shooter.ashx?personissfid=SHINDM2806197601 Jaspal Rana profile} at ISSF
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Jaspal Rana". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- Jaspal Rana Institute of Education and Technology