As the nation’s shooting community lamented the premature passing of one of the sport’s most respected icons, ace Indian shooter Manu Bhaker on Saturday called the death of her instructor Jaspal Rana a “irreparable loss.”
Manu won her unprecedented dual bronze medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris under the guidance of Rana, one of India’s best pistol shooters who made a smooth transition into coaching. He battled heart problems and passed away at the age of 49.
At the time of his passing, Rana was the Indian pistol team’s high-performance coach.
Over the course of his remarkable 15-year competitive career, among his greatest accomplishments were winning three gold and one silver medal at the 2006 Asian Games, setting the world record at the time.
Manu posted three pictures of herself with Jaspal along with the words “Apurniya Kshati” (irreparable loss) in a two-word Hindi social media post.
Manu was also present when Rana’s body remains were transported to Dehradun. She was spotted sitting with his father, NS Rana, and other family members on Friday night.
