Exclusive! I will coach and produce as many champions as possible, says Jaspal Rana

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Today, sporting fans in India are raving about Jaspal Rana the coach and mentor who guided Manu Bhaker to two bronze medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics. That is more like the epilogue in his shooting career which began in 1987, when he was just 10.

The prologue began in 1991, when he competed in the Nationals in Ahmedabad for the first time. From that day onwards, Jaspal went on to blaze the shooting arena, just that he did it minus hype of media and social media.

When the 'pistol prodigy' or 'Goldfinger' as he was nicknamed, would win medals, people ran to him for interviews. He would get a bit irritated as many did not the difference between a pistol and revolver, rifle and shotgun.

To say that Jaspal Rana has calmed down would be stating the obvious. The Arjuna Awardee, who later won the Dronacharya Award as well, clinched 600 national and international medals between 1991 and 2006, when he was the master.

Question: Rewind to the first Nationals in 1991, Jaspal?

Jaspal Rana: I mean I was just 10, to win an air pistol gold at that time, it was big for me in Ahmedabad. That's the only sport I could have afforded since pellets were expensive.

Question: Your first international, what memories do you have?

Jaspal Rana: I think my first SAF Games in Sri Lanka, it was important competition at that time. And yes, a first international medal, always stands out as memory, no matter what the field was.

Question: In the 1995 SAF Games you went on to win seven medals in the SAF Games in Madras?

Rana: Why are you jumping and taking away my important medals in 1994 (laughing). Yeah, Madras SAF Games was a peak, I won seven medals and even the Pakistani shooters would come and congratulate me. All I was doing at that time was to keep competing with myself, improve my scores, not worry about who else was shooting. No, that's not me.

Question OK, let's rewind to 1994 then?

Jaspal Rana: Yes, it was a memorable year in so many ways. I won medals at the Commonwealth Games in 1994, a junior world championship gold medal in Milano (standard pistol) , and then the big medals in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.

Before one event, I was like sick, I had a boil on my knee and I was admitted in hospital. The next day was my match. My coach Sunny (Thomas) Sir and I ran out of the hospital against medical advice.

There was a painful boil on my knee and it eventually burst the night before the competition, so next morning I shot and won gold. Hiroshima was big, and people also say that was big. I don't know, I just did what I had to.

Question: You went to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as well?

Rana: I think I was temperamentally not suited for slow-fire events, though as a coach today, I tell my trainees to prepare for slow fire events. It helps in all other events as well. At my time, I was shooting everything, air pistol, standard pistol, centre fire pistol, rapid fire. Yes, Atlanta was only air and I did not do well.

Question: Do you regret you did not prepare as hard for more Olympics?

Jaspal Rana: Anna, I believe in karma. I read the Bhagwad Gita, I read the Mahabaharata. If I am feeding a pet (dog) or a cow, it's my good karma. If I am training someone, that's again karma. If I did not prepare for more Olympics, maybe I did not have the patience for more events which were suited just for the Olympics at that time.

Question: You competed in few more Asian Games as well, in 1998 (Bangkok), 2002 (Busan) and 2006 (Doha). Any memories?

Rana: I have plenty of memories, good and bad. A lot of people hated me for me being frank, they still do. People do not understand, during my time, getting ammunition was not so easy.

But yes, I had almost given up shooting for a few years, so when I did extremely well in Doha and won medals, I became a big star. I was in the running for MVP (most valuable player) award. If you ask me about 2002 Busan, I had problems with ammunition, not giving an excuse.

Question: Who are the coaches/mentors who still remain in your heart?

Jaspal Rana: I am indebted to Sunny Sir and Tibor Gonczol, I owe it to them. Sunny Sir is a fantastic human being and I spoke to him after Manu won the Olympic medals, he was touched. Tibor taught me patience, calm down, not be angry and also how to think and be my own coach. That's how I have evolved as a coach.

Question: Back to the time when you were an active shooter, did you fear others in competition?

Jaspal Rana: No, never. If people had problems with high scores I shot, it was not my fault. I was competing with myself, and I wanted to work on consistency and keep improving my scores. I did not care who was shooting what score in the next lane!

Question: Is coaching an art or science? And tell us about your journey?

Jaspal Rana: Its wrong for people to think I have been coaching only Manu Bhaker. Manu is special, she worked hard, but the methods I use for training, not all of them can cope with it. There are no short cuts, really. And if you ask me who all I coached, it must be at least a 100 shooters. I have refused nobody.

I have coached Chinki Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary, Rhythm Sangwan, Anish Bhanwala, Esha Singh and so many more from their junior days. My bio data speaks for itself and that's how I got the Dronacharya Award. I repeat, I have never refused to coach anyone.

Question: You have a very tight programme for shooters is what I have heard and are very hard when it comes to discipline. Your thoughts?

Jaspal Rana: There are no short cuts in my methods. Discipline is the key and if the shooter can cope with it, then great. Even when Manu and I trained for the Olympic trials and eventually for Paris 2024, it was a well-defined schedule. One has to plan in detail and what I expect is 100 per cent commitment.

If shooters do not like my methods, there are more coaches to train under. It is my karma to be an honest coach, I instill in my shooters discipline and good karma. They win the medals but I am doing my job for the country.

I will continue doing it for the next three or four Olympic cycles, whoever trains under me. Anna, I love coaching as much as I like feeding a cow grass. If people find me a tough coach, that's a choice they make. Who wins medals, not me, it's them!

Question: You train shooters in Siri Fort, Tughlakabad and also Dehradun at your own range?

Rana: If I can give back to the sport, it makes me happy, it's my good karma. My doors are open to all, I have never refused anyone, be it pistol, rifle or even shotgun. For me, coaching is not a job, it's passion.

I also coach my daughter Devanshi Rana, she also has to go through the grind. So why blame me for being a harsh coach! I am just trying to develop programmes and monitor my shooters for them to excel. I set goals for them, and Manu is just one example. I can and will produce more champions.