Jaspal Rana

Rana in 2007
Personal information
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1976-06-28)28 June 1976 Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India
Died	12 June 2026(2026-06-12) (aged 49) New Delhi, Delhi, India
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Spouse	Aarushie Verma
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Shooting
Event(s)	10 metre air pistol 25 metre center-fire pistol 25 metre standard pistol
Now coaching	Manu Bhaker
Personal details
Party	Indian National Congress (from 2012)
Other political affiliations	Bharatiya Janata Party (until 2012)
Medal record Men's shooting Representing  India Event 1st 2nd 3rd Asian Games 4 2 2 Commonwealth Games 9 4 2 Asian Championships 1 0 1 World Junior Championships 1 0 0 Total 15 6 5 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 Commonwealth Games 1994 Victoria 25m centre fire pistol 1994 Victoria 25m centre fire pistol pairs 1998 Kuala Lumpur 25m centre fire pistol 1998 Kuala Lumpur 25m centre fire pistol pairs 2002 Manchester 25m centre fire pistol 2002 Manchester 25m centre fire pistol pairs 2002 Manchester 25m standard pistol 2002 Manchester 25m standard pistol pairs 2006 Melbourne 25m centre fire pistol pairs 1994 Victoria 10m air pistol 1998 Kuala Lumpur 10m air pistol 1998 Kuala Lumpur 10m air pistol pairs 2002 Manchester 10m air pistol pairs 1994 Victoria 10m air pistol pairs 2002 Manchester 10m air pistol Asian Championships 1995 Jakarta 25 m standard pistol 2000 Langkawi 25 m center-fire pistol World Junior Championships 1994 Milan 25 m standard pistol

Jaspal Rana (28 June 1976 – 12 June 2026) was an Indian sport shooter and coach.^[1] Rana won numerous medals at international competitions, including the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, and had been instrumental in shaping India's presence in shooting sports. He remains India’s most successful athlete in Commonwealth Games history, with a remarkable tally of 15 medals—9 gold, 4 silver, and 2 bronze—won across four editions of the Games: 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.^[2] He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1994 and the Padma Shri in 1997 for his contributions to Indian shooting. Beyond his competitive career, he was also known for mentoring young shooters and contributing to the growth of shooting in India, for which he was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 2020. Rana had been credited with helping Manu Bhaker win double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.^[3]

Jaspal Rana was born in 1976 in a Garhwali family in Uttarakhand.^[4] 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 Uttarakhand in 2000.^[4][5] 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.^[6][7]

Jaspal studied at Kendriya Vidyayala in Delhi and then at St. Stephen's College, Delhi.^[8][9]

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 represented India at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, competing in two pistol events. He finished 29th in the men's 10m air pistol and 45th in the men's 50m free pistol events.

He won medals at several Commonwealth Games from 1994 to 2006. He won 15 medals, which included 9 gold medals, 4 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals. His most successful event was 2002 Commonwealth Games at Manchester, where he won six medals.^[2]

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.^[10]

Around 2012, Rana started coaching young Indian sport shooters.^[11] 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.^[12]

Bhaker has credited coach Jaspal Rana with helping her win double bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.^[3] Though Bhaker credits Rana with the medals, he said he was just playing his role as a coach, giving his 100% to her training.^[11] Rana also coached at the Jaspal Rana Institute of Education and Technology in Dehradun. He further noted that coaching was his passion and his Dehradun coaching academy was never about making money.^[11]

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]

In 2017, following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Rana became a prominent voice against the high tax rates placed on imported sports equipment, particularly for shooting. He argued that the tax, which was as high as 28% on some items, unfairly burdened athletes from middle-class backgrounds and threatened to hinder India's progress in international competitions.^[15]

Rana was joined by others, including NRAI President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo^[16] and TV9 journalist Farid Ali,^[15] who is also a shooting champion.^[17] When the government provided a tax exemption on imported sporting goods due to their efforts, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore specifically thanked Singh Deo for backing the exemption.^[16]

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.^[4] 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.^[18][19] He was married to Aarushie Verma, an environmentalist, interior designer and national level shooter in pistol & shotgun.

Rana died in New Delhi on 12 June 2026, aged 49, due to a cardiac rupture while asleep.^[20] His death was condoled by the President of India, Prime Minister of India, and various other political leaders.

• 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^[21]
• While winning the 25 m Center Fire Pistol event, Rana equalled the world record by aggregating 590 points.*

At just 18 years old, Rana was honored with the Arjuna Award in 1994, India's second-highest sporting accolade, acknowledging his early achievements in shooting.

By the age of 21, he was conferred the Padma Shri in 1997, India's fourth-highest civilian award, for his exceptional contributions to sports.

Recognized for his excellence in coaching, Rana received the Dronacharya Award in 2020, India's highest honor for sports coaching.  Notably, he was awarded in the same year that his protégés, Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary, received the Arjuna Award.

In 2025, he was awarded ^[22]the Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman 2025, one of the two highest civilian awards of the State of Uttarakhand along with Late Actor & Writer Tom Alter, Late Statehood Activist Sushila Baluni, Chipko Movement Leader Late Gaura Devi, Warrior Teelu Rauteli, Entrepreneur & Social Worker Dev Raturi, and other notable personalities.

• 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.

• 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
• Jaspal Rana at IMDb