All posts tagged: manu bhaker

Jaspal Rana: A champion without the airs

Jaspal Rana: A champion without the airs

Published by Parlour News

New Delhi: The Indian shooting fraternity woke up on Friday to the shocking news of Jaspal Rana’s demise. As his peers, friends, shooters and officials struggled to come to terms with the cruel and unexpected development, each one of them had a piece of Jaspal to share. Renowned Indian shooting coach and former Asian Games gold medallist Jaspal Rana died at the age of 49 on June 11, 2026. (PTI) Memories that captured the exceptional career of a teenage prodigy who became a giant of Indian shooting, whose exploits on the international stage made the sport popular and gave shooters belief. But Jaspal was more than just a talent and a performer. He was an outspoken voice, a bundle of ideas, a provocateur, a prankster with a zest for life, and a mentor who dared others to dream big. It was difficult to box Jaspal Rana. They would miss him. At the ranges, he pulled off his antics or challenged a youngster, walking with pride and swagger one moment and breaking into laughter the next. …

Jaspal Rana – whose precision on the shooting line was matched by his outspokenness off it

Jaspal Rana – whose precision on the shooting line was matched by his outspokenness off it

Published by Webster

One of the things Jaspal Rana loved explaining about the complex sport of shooting was the trigger pull. He’d show videos of his most famous ward, Manu Bhaker, and then painstakingly explain the almost invisible movements that produce the perfect shot. To most, it looked like nothing at all. To Rana, it was everything. He could admire a ‘beautiful shot’, he often said, even if it missed the bullseye. It was a revealing quirk. For all his reputation as a straight-talker and fighter, Rana was fundamentally a shooting obsessive. A nerd who dedicated his life – first as an athlete, then as a coach – chasing perfection in a sport where success is measured in millimetres and movement is the enemy. Rana, who passed away on Friday at the age of 49 after a brief illness, spent much of his life doing two things exceptionally well: shooting with pistols and speaking his mind. In many ways, his glorious career was a study in contradictions. Rana possessed the stillness required of an elite pistol shooter but …

Renowned shooter & coach Jaspal Rana passes away at 49

Renowned shooter & coach Jaspal Rana passes away at 49

Published by Webster

Asian Games medallist and the coach of two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, Jaspal Rana passed away on Thursday night. Rana, who was just 49, took his last breath at a hospital in Delhi. He had accompanied the Indian pistol shooters as a high performance coach at the recently concluded ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany where India bagged two gold and two silver medals. Rana fell ill during his return flight from Munich and was rushed to a hospital upon arrival in Delhi. The doctors recommended a stent procedure for the heart, but Rana couldn’t recover. “Heartbroken to hear about Jaspal Rana’s passing,” wrote Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist and Rana’s former teammate in a social media post. “Jaspal was my teammate, and in many ways, part of a generation that helped shape Indian shooting. He was intense, gifted, and carried the pride of the country every time he stepped onto the range. “This is a huge loss for our sport. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, students and everyone whose …

Manu Bhaker spearheads Indian shooting squad for Asian Games | Sports News

Manu Bhaker spearheads Indian shooting squad for Asian Games | Sports News

Published by Webster

Despite finishing seventh in the 10m air pistol women’s shooting trials, Manu Bhaker has made it to the Asian Games squad for the event along with 25m Sports Pistol event. Similarly, Esha Singh has also made it to the squad in both events, Vidarsa K Vinod and Rudrankksh Patil has also made it to the 10m air rifle and 50m three positions team. The decision to take two event specialists came after the organizers capped the maximum number of participants at 30 (15 men and 15 women) for each country. Since, shotgun shooters can’t participate in two events, NRAI decided to prefer two event specialists in rifle and pistol. While Manu didn’t have a good show in the 10m trials, she is the Olympic bronze medallist in the 10m event while Rudrannksh, who primarily shoots in 10m event, has been producing good results in the 50m 3P since last year. Speaking of the squad selected for the Asian Games. NRAI President Kalikesh Singh Deo said, “Selecting this team was a challenging task given the exceptional …

NRAI announces Indian shooting squad for the 2026 Asian Games

NRAI announces Indian shooting squad for the 2026 Asian Games

Published by Webster

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), on Thursday, announced the 18-member Indian Rifle and Pistol contingent for the shooting programme of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. They combined with the 12-member Indian shotgun squad will form a strong Indian shooting team that will be fighting for medals across 28 events in Japan. After a gruelling 5-day final selection trials in Dehradun earlier this week, the Indian team has witnessed some surprising entries and big exits. One of the major decisions is that India will send only one athlete in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol event due to the limited quota of 30 athletes. Due to the quota restriction, India has also selected several shooters with lower national rankings who are capable of competing in two events. Two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker is one of the shooters selected for two events, the women’s 25m pistol and the women’s 10m air pistol. Meanwhile, the other two Paris Olympic medalists, Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale, missed out on the team after finishing 9th and 29th, respectively, in the …

Manu Bhaker, Samrat Rana win silver as India finishes second in ISSF World Cup medal tally

Manu Bhaker, Samrat Rana win silver as India finishes second in ISSF World Cup medal tally

Published by Webster

India signed off from the ISSF World Cup Munich 2026 with a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, as Manu Bhaker and Samrat Rana finished runners-up after a closely contested final against China. The Indian pair fell just 0.3 points short of world No. 1 and reigning world champions Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai to settle for silver on the final day of competition in Munich, Germany. After a slow start, Manu and Samrat climbed into contention with a strong second and third series. The Indians reduced the gap to just 0.1 points midway through the final and later opened up a 2.2-point advantage during the elimination stage. However, the Chinese pair fought back as India lost momentum in the closing stages. Despite a late push, Manu and Samrat were unable to reclaim the lead, handing China the gold medal while securing silver for India. India ends campaign with four medals Earlier in qualification, the Indian duo had produced a strong performance to reach the medal round, while the second Indian …

Esha Singh wins Munich World Cup gold with record-breaking performance

Esha Singh wins Munich World Cup gold with record-breaking performance

Published by Webster

Esha Singh produced a sensational performance at the ISSF World Cup 2026 Munich by winning the women’s 25m pistol gold medal with a world record score on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Indian shooter topped a strong field featuring reigning Olympic champion Yang Ji-in and former world champion Doreen Vennekamp. Esha finished the final with a remarkable score of 43 out of 50, which now stands as both the senior and junior world record in the event. The gold medal marked India’s first individual shooting medal of the ISSF World Cup season across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines. It also secured Esha a direct qualification berth for the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final in Rome later this year. Germany’s Doreen Vennekamp won silver with 38/50, while Bulgaria’s Miroslava Mincheva took bronze. Manu Bhaker narrowly misses final cut Olympic champion Yang Ji-in, who had topped qualification with a score of 592-28x, finished fifth in the final after struggling during the elimination stages. Esha had entered the medal round after qualifying fifth with 587-19x, including scores of 293 in …

Parth smashes junior World Record in 10m air rifle

Parth smashes junior World Record in 10m air rifle

Published by Webster

Teenager Parth Rakesh Mane, finished seventh in the 10m air rifle men’s final at the hallowed Olympic Shooting range in Munich, as India took many positives on Day 1. The youngster from Maharashtra had earlier shattered the junior national record with an effort of 633.6 in qualification, which gave him third spot in the classy 149-strong field. Korea and China shared the two gold medals on the day. Parth’s qualification score was bettered only by the eventual gold medallist and former 50m rifle three positions (3P) Olympic champion Zhang Changhong (636.3) of China and Paris silver medallist Victor Lindgren (633.9) of Sweden. Mane began the final with a solid 10.8 and even finished the first five-shot series with the same score, finding himself in fourth at that stage with just 0.7 separating the leader Chang from fifth placed Peter Gorsa, the Croatian legend. Korean Shin Minki then shot a perfect 10.9 to begin the second five-shot series and Mane found himself sliding down to eighth after a high-scoring second series. Going into his 12th shot …

Parth smashes junior World Record in 10m air rifle

Parth finishes seventh in 10m air rifle final

Published by Webster

Teenager Parth Rakesh Mane, finished seventh in the 10m air rifle men’s final at the hallowed Olympic Shooting range in Munich, as India took many positives on Day 1. The youngster from Maharashtra had earlier shattered the junior national record with an effort of 633.6 in qualification, which gave him third spot in the classy 149-strong field. Korea and China shared the two gold medals on the day. Parth’s qualification score was bettered only by the eventual gold medallist and former 50m rifle three positions (3P) Olympic champion Zhang Changhong (636.3) of China and Paris silver medallist Victor Lindgren (633.9) of Sweden. Mane began the final with a solid 10.8 and even finished the first five-shot series with the same score, finding himself in fourth at that stage with just 0.7 separating the leader Chang from fifth placed Peter Gorsa, the Croatian legend. Korean Shin Minki then shot a perfect 10.9 to begin the second five-shot series and Mane found himself sliding down to eighth after a high-scoring second series. Going into his 12th shot …

India needs to let Olympic sports hold their own space

India needs to let Olympic sports hold their own space

Published by Webster

“Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?” That was Mithali Raj in 2017, calmly dismantling a question that revealed more about the ecosystem around her than about her. Different example, same instinct: the need to anchor every conversation to the most dominant narrative in the room. Nearly a decade later, her question still hangs in the air, unanswered, unlearned from, and, judging by what unfolded with Manu Bhaker this week, largely ignored. Because here we are again. At an event celebrating 75 years of Indian shooting, a space meant to honour precision, discipline, and a sport that has quietly delivered Olympic glory, a double Olympic medallist was asked about a 15-year-old cricketer. Not about her craft. Not about her journey. Not about the weight of history she now carries. But about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Indian cricket’s new-found star. And just like that, the spotlight shifted. The real issue: context, not curiosity Let’s be clear, this isn’t about Sooryavanshi. His rise is extraordinary, his …