Jaspal Rana, Renowned Indian Shooting Coach and Asian Games Gold Medallist, Dies at 49

Jaspal Rana, born in 1976 in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, passed away on June 12, 2026, at the age of 49 at a Delhi hospital, confirmed by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo. He had fallen ill during the Indian contingent's return from the ISSF World Cup in Munich and was taken directly to hospital upon landing, where he underwent a cardiac stent procedure; despite initial reports of stability, his condition worsened fatally. As a competitive shooter, Rana was among India's most successful athletes, amassing 15 Commonwealth Games medals — including nine golds — across four editions from 1994 to 2006, and winning gold at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima; his peak performance came at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, where he won three golds and a silver while equalling the world record in the 25m Centre Fire Pistol event. He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1994, the Padma Shri in 1997, and the Dronacharya Award in 2020 for his coaching contributions. After retiring from competition, Rana became junior national pistol coach in 2012 and shaped stars such as Saurabh Chaudhary, Anish Bhanwala, and Chinki Yadav, before being appointed high-performance coach for the 25m pistol discipline in February 2025. His most celebrated coaching achievement was rebuilding Manu Bhaker's career after their reconciliation in 2023, guiding her to two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics — making her the first Indian to win two medals at a single Games. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, and the broader sporting fraternity paid tribute, with Bhaker describing the loss as 'irreparable' and saying the shooting range would 'never feel the same again.'