One of our generation's earliest sporting heroes, Jaspal Rana, who single-handedly brought the sport of Shooting into Indian public imagination, tragically passed away today, just weeks short of his 50th birthday.
Jaspal was my age but given the vagaries of work I used to call him Jaspal sir. If I recall correctly our first physical encounter was short of pleasant. In his lair outside the finals hall of the hallowed Karni Singh range, I was trying to whisk away some Indian shooters for press interviews ahead of one of the ISSF World Cups.
He suddenly appeared with a few acquaintances and told both the young shooter and me off in his trademark terse manner citing matches ahead. Being a fellow 1976'er and equally proud of my work and standing, I must admit I wasn't too pleased. He's not even coach (at that time) and it's not even his shooter, my hyperactive mind was buzzing in anger. Don't I know my work??
But of course, being in perpetual awe of Jaspal Rana, I remained shut and did as told. Also because secretly I agreed. Never a fan of distracting athletes in any manner ahead of a big tournament and certainly not by the Indian media (😜).
Over the 14 years that I worked for Shooting, I was fortunate enough to know Jaspal the man, over Jaspal the Shooting star. Several conversations, some long, some short. He was actually my biggest nightmare given my professional mandate with Shooting. But, despite having burnt bridges with all and sundry on their reported adverse comments on Shooting and the federation, Jaspal sir I never took issue with. And no, it was not only because of respect.
After spending the whole day reading his obituaries, I feel compelled today to divulge the reason.
Most experts and pundits have done their job brilliantly in bringing out what Jaspal was to Indian Shooting. I will try to bring out a fan's perspective. A fan who was an athlete himself. A fellow 1976'er who was also brash in his days and hated to lose on the field of play.
What Jaspal brought to the Shooting range and among Indian shooters and the Indian shooting ecosystem was the killer instinct, the fierce competitiveness that separates the good from the great.
A Shooting range is a very different place to any other field of play. Even Archery is out in the open and has therefore its natural sounds and light. A Shooting range is like a Zen arena. The only sound you will hear is that of pellets or the occasional rapid gun fire in a 25m range. It is an individual sport and focus and concentration are its hallmarks. People speak softly. Coaches whisper in the ears of wards for fear of giving tactics away. The only crowd present at times is parents and loved ones of the athletes themselves.
Jaspal Rana was antithetical to the general norms of a Shooting range. He was the Noah Lyles of Shooting. As in if you don't beat him, he will beat you. He wasn't there to search for theories, he was there to win. To win for India.
He had the rare ability to bring out the best from not only himself and his team, but also from his adversaries. He would intimidate them to perform better. It was like they would punch above their weight because they wanted to beat him.
But they could never and they never will.
Only the Shooting insiders will know that Jaspal Rana never taught Manu how to fire a pistol. He told me that she does it better than him. All Jaspal Rana did was become that one alter ego every young athlete wants to prove wrong. It was like if Jaspal said "tumse nahi hota to chor do. bohot aa jayenge" (if you are not capable then please leave the sport, there are many waiting in the wings), Manu would shoot to prove him otherwise.
He would argue with one and all. All for the good of Indian shooting. Never did I feel anything else, which is I why I could never tell him off. I failed professionally but I gained as a human being. To even someone like me, he would turn around and wave while driving as we passed each other on the road. That tells a lot about the man.
Indian Shooting will never be the same without Jaspal Rana.
