Jaspal Rana

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]

Jaspal Rana

Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1976-06-28) 28 June 1976 (age 48) 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
Personal details
Political party	Indian National Congress
Medal record Men's shooting Representing  India Asian Games 1994 Hiroshima 25 m center fire pistol 2006 Doha 25 m center fire pistol 2006 Doha 25 m center fire pistol team 2006 Doha 25 m standard pistol 1998 Bangkok 25 m center fire pistol 2006 Doha 25 m standard pistol team 1994 Hiroshima 25 m center fire pistol team 1998 Bangkok 25 m center fire pistol team Asian Championships 1995 Jakarta 25 m standard pistol 2000 Langkawi 25 m center-fire pistol World Junior Championships 1994 Milan 25 m standard pistol

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

Jaspal 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

Sport Shooter Career

At 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

Around 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

• 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

In 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

Shortly after the 2006 Asian Games, Rana joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from the Tehri constituency, where he was defeated by Vijay Bahuguna of the Indian National Congress. In 2012, after being denied a BJP ticket for the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly election, he joined the Congress party. Rana was announced as a star campaigner for the party in the 2012 elections and was subsequently assigned a minor role in the Harish Rawat-led government.^[13] He continued to campaign for the party during the 2017 elections.^[14]

Personal life

His 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.^[15][16] He is married to Aarushie Verma, an environmentalist, interior designer and national level shooter in pistol & shotgun.