New Delhi, Jun 12: Jaspal Rana, one of India’s finest pistol shooters who made a hugely successful transition to coaching and guided Manu Bhaker to epoch-making twin bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, has shockingly died at a mere 49 years of age after battling cardiac complications.
Rana is survived by his wife, Reena Rana, daughter Devanshi, son Yuvraj, father Narayan Singh Rana, and his two siblings, Sushma Singh and Subhash Rana.
National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo said Rana breathed his last at Delhi’s Max Super Speciality Hospital on Thursday night.
Dr Balbir Singh, Group Chairman (Cardiac Sciences, Pan Max & Chief of Interventional Cardiology and Electrophysiology) at Max, said Rana was brought to the hospital in a critical condition on June 1.
“Mr. Jaspal Rana presented with an acute heart attack that was already three days old. He had been travelling and continued to experience chest pain before arriving at the hospital in a very critical condition,” Singh said.
“The artery responsible for the heart attack was completely blocked. His heart’s pumping function was severely weakened, and he was in heart failure,” he added.
The hospital said Rana responded well to treatment and had shown significant recovery before the sudden deterioration.
“Mr. Rana had recovered significantly and was fit for discharge today. However, he unfortunately suffered a sudden cardiac rupture while asleep, which led to his demise,” Singh said.
Rana’s untimely death has left the shooting fraternity in a state of shock. His last rites would be conducted in Varanasi on Saturday.
His stunning death has created a massive void in India’s coaching leadership staff as the shooters gear up for the Asian Games later this year and the NRAI would have to thrash out a fresh plan to ensure that the preparations remain on track.
Rana was serving as the high-performance coach for Indian pistol shooters.
He had initially fallen ill aboard the Indian contingent’s return flight from the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany. After landing in New Delhi, he was immediately hospitalised and had a stent installed to clear a cardiac blockage.
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 were 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 of the time.
