'Maverick Jaspal': Best Female Athlete Of Asian Games To Get Jaspal Rana Trophy

'Maverick Jaspal', a book on shooting great Jaspal Rana, has launched© Getty

At the book launch ceremony of ‘MAVERICK JASPAL' on Indian shooting's first superstar Jaspal Rana, just before the Asiad, sprint queen PT Usha made a big announcement. She said, “Jaspal Rana is no longer with us. But his memories and legacy will always remain. From now on, on behalf of the Indian Olympic Association, the Best Female Athlete of the Asiad will always be awarded the ‘Jaspal Rana Trophy'." The Best Male Athlete of the Asiad will be honoured with the ‘Raja Randhir Singh Trophy', named after the five-time former Olympian shooter and former President of the Olympic Council of Asia.

Only three months ago, World Champion and Asiad superstar shooter Jaspal Rana passed away at the age of just 49, sending a wave of grief across the entire Indian sports fraternity.

End of an Era: The Coach Who Made Olympic History

At the Paris Olympics 2024, shooter Manu Bhaker created history by winning 2 medals together for the first time under the guidance of coach Jaspal Rana. The Jaspal-Manu Bhaker duo seemed to have decoded the secret to winning medals at the Olympics.

In an EXCLUSIVE interview given to NDTV before Manu Bhaker's event at the Paris Olympics, Jaspal Rana had claimed, “Manu will win medals in both events and will also talk to you.” 

But just when it was time to reap the benefits of this stalwart coach's success, Indian sports suffered a huge setback. 

Now was the time when other Indian shooters would also benefit from Jaspal Rana's coaching and win medals at the Olympics. But this story remained incomplete...

The Rebel Who Became Indian Shooting's First Superstar

Rana was the first superstar of Indian shooting. At the 1994 World Shooting Championship in Italy (Milan), Rana won Gold in the 25m Standard Pistol with a World Record score, and the sport of shooting got recognition in every Indian household.

As a player, Rana won 8 medals, including 4 golds at the Asiad, and 15 medals, including 9 golds, at the Commonwealth Games. His event was not part of the Olympic Games, otherwise this story could have been something else entirely.

Kapil To Bindra: Sporting Icons Pen Emotional Tributes For Jaspal Rana

In ‘MAVERICK JASPAL', along with renowned and seasoned journalists S. Kannan and G. Rajaraman, World Cup-winning cricket captain Kapil Dev and Olympic Gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, as well as shooter Anjali Bhagwat and Junior World Championship medal-winning pistol shooter Anish Bhanwala, have also opened up a caravan of memories of Jaspal in this book.

Journalists Rajaraman and Kannan have beautifully woven together Jaspal Rana's infinite tales of success and heart-touching stories. 

While reading this book, you can feel time and again that Jaspal is standing behind you, smiling and saying ‘Picture Abhi Baki hai mere dost' (This story is not over, the picture is still left, my friend)...'

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