Ace pistol shooter Manu Bhaker broke down as she paid her last respects to her coach, Jaspal Rana, who passed away due to heart-related complications on Friday. Rana breathed his last, aged 49, at Delhi’s Max Hospital earlier Friday morning. The double Olympic medalist and several other athletes gathered to pay their final tributes after the mortal remains of the Indian shooting legend were brought to his residence in Dehradun. In a viral video, an inconsolable Bhaker was seen sitting beside Jaspal’s father, Narayan Singh Rana.
VIDEO | Dehradun, Uttarakhand: Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker arrives at the residence and shooting academy of her coach, Jaspal Rana, in Poundha to pay her respects after the mortal remains of the Indian shooting legend were brought there.
Rana passed away on Friday… pic.twitter.com/xvbmJnt8q1
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 12, 2026
One of India’s most decorated shooters, Rana leaves behind a remarkable legacy spanning more than three decades. He remains India’s most successful Commonwealth Games athlete, having won an extraordinary 15 medals — nine gold, four silver and two bronze — across the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 editions of the Games.
His achievements extended well beyond the Commonwealth stage. Rana secured four gold medals and one silver at the Asian Games, including a gold medal at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and a historic haul of three gold medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
At the 1994 World Shooting Championships in Milan, he clinched gold while setting a record score. He also equalled the world record in the 25m Centre Fire Pistol event with an aggregate score of 590 during the 2006 Asian Games.
Known for his grit and determination, Rana famously won three gold medals in Doha despite competing with a high fever, a feat that remains one of the most celebrated achievements in Indian shooting history.
After retiring from competition, Rana devoted himself to coaching and talent development. As a junior national coach, he identified and nurtured several future stars, including Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary.
Despite a widely publicised fallout with Bhaker before the Tokyo Olympics, the two later reunited, with Rana playing a key role in her successful campaign that culminated in two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
(With ANI Inputs)