Olympian Manu Bhaker shares pictures with late coach Jaspal Rana, calls his death ‘irreparable loss’

Published 13 June 2026 · local

“Irreparable loss,” said ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker to describe the untimely demise of her mentor Jaspal Rana, one of the sport's most revered icons

“Irreparable loss,” said ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker to describe the untimely demise of her mentor Jaspal Rana, one of the sport's most revered icons. Rana, one of India's finest pistol shooters who successfully transitioned into coaching, guided Manu to her historic twin bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He died at the age of 49 after battling cardiac complications. In a brief two-word post in Hindi on social media, Manu shared a montage of photographs of herself with Jaspal Rana and wrote, “Apurniya Kshati” (irreparable loss). Manu, who is currently in Dehradun attending the national camp, was also present when Rana's mortal remains were brought to the city. On Friday evening, she was seen sitting alongside his father, N.S. Rana and other family members, at his residence in Poundha. Mortal remains taken to Varanasi The mortal remains of Jaspal Rana were taken to Varanasi in an air ambulance on Saturday for the final rites. Rana, 49, passed away on Thursday, June 12, following a brief illness after battling cardiac complications, the Rifle Association of India (NRAI) had said.

His mortal remains were brought from Delhi to Dehradun on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, the body was kept at his residence to allow the public to pay their last respects. Before being taken to Varanasi, Rana was accorded full state honours at his residence. According to PTI, citing sources, Rana had deep faith in Lord Shiva and the Ganga and had expressed a wish during his lifetime for his final rites to be performed in Varanasi. A large number of people gathered at the residence till late Friday night. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the family to offer his condolences, describing Rana's death as an irreparable loss for both the state and the country. Dhami said that Rana's achievements and spirit would continue to inspire the youth. Also Read | Manu Bhaker likely to get ‘deteriorating’ Paris Olympics medals replaced Who was Jaspal Rana? Jaspal Rana was serving as the high-performance coach of the Indian pistol team at the time of his death.

The pistol ace, who was considered a maverick in Indian shooting circles for his outspoken demeanour and passion for the sport, was a prodigal talent and won his first national-level gold at just 12 years of age. His international breakthrough was the 25m centre fire pistol gold medals at the 1994 Commonwealth and Asian Games. In fact, the Asiad gold was India's first in 16 years after Raja Randhir Singh opened the account in 1978. Randhir had passed away recently after battling age-related ailments. Rana's biggest moment as a shooter came in the 2006 Doha Asian Games when he snared three gold medals and a silver in a sensational performance that included equalling the world record at the time. After a decorated career as an elite shooter, Rana transformed Indian shooting through his roles as a junior national team coach and high-performance trainer. His most significant coaching contribution was mentoring Manu Bhaker and helping her secure two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making her the first Indian to achieve such a feat.