NEW DELHI: A prodigy on the shooting range, a maverick off it and an unapologetically obsessed coach, who could identify young talent with awe-inspiring accuracy.
Jaspal Rana was arguably the first marksman to capture India's imagination before the sport came of age.
Rana breathed his last at a relatively young age of 49 after battling cardiac issues that came to fore while he was flying back from Munich to Delhi, requiring urgent hospitalisation some days ago.
Rana, who was born in Uttarkashi, was more than a champion shooter.
He was the face of a sporting revolution.
Long before India emerged as a global force in shooting, a teenaged Rana inspired a generation with his fearless performances on the international stage, becoming one of the first stars of a sport that was then largely unknown to the cricket-mad public in India.
His rise mirrored the rise of Indian shooting itself, and for many, the two stories became inseparable.
The image remains etched in Indian sporting memory -- a teenaged Rana, fresh from his exploits at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, being carried on his father's shoulders through a sea of admirers.
At a time when shooting occupied little space in the national sports discourse, the young champion had become an unlikely hero.
That homecoming was not merely a celebration of medals won, it marked the arrival of a man who would go on to shape the destiny of Indian shooting both as a champion and a coach.
That success transformed the fortunes of the Rana family but more significantly, it brought to fore shooting's potential as a medal-yielding sport for India.
Rana, whose father Narayan Singh Rana is a 1971 war veteran, dabbled in politics too and was aligned with both the BJP and Congress at different stages.
He could not achieve any electoral success though.
A national-level gold-medallist at a mere 12 years of age, Rana's career at the highest level spanned nearly two decades, during which he collected medals at the multiple Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
He was also an Olympian but his only appearance at the 1996 Atlanta Games did not yield a podium finish.
The successes of later champions such as Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Silver at 2004 Athens Olympics) and Abhinav Bindra (Gold at 2008 Beijing Olympics) would come years later, but Rana had already helped lay the foundations.
Rana's career was defined as much by grit as by medals.
At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, he battled through high fever and nausea to win three gold medals, producing one of the most memorable performances by an Indian athlete at the continental showpiece.
That same resilience was evident at the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championships in New Delhi, where Rana competed despite suffering from severe food poisoning the previous night.
While then national coach Sunny Thomas anxiously wondered whether his star shooter would even make it to the range, Rana shrugged off the illness and went on to win more than half a dozen medals, displaying the grit that became the hallmark of his resilient personality.
He later dismissed the illness as "nothing big" despite requiring hospitalisation.
The absence of Olympic glory did little to diminish his stature, for his legacy was built on transforming Indian shooting and excelling in disciplines where he was unquestionably among the best in the world.
A favourite of long-time national coach Sunny Thomas, who often remarked that "Jaspal needed little supervision", Rana was widely regarded as one of India's most gifted shooters.
Yet among the many influences on his career, none was greater than that of the late Tibor Gonczol, the Hungarian coach who played a pivotal role in shaping him into a world-class champion.
Their relationship transcended the traditional coach-athlete bond, and Gonczol's departure from India left a void that Rana never truly overcame.
The depth of his admiration was evident years later, as Gonczol's photograph remained a permanent fixture on Rana's social media profiles even as other images changed -- a lasting tribute to the mentor who helped mould both the shooter and the man.
Perhaps inspired by the relationship he shared with Gonczol, Rana sought to become more than just a coach.
Through his academy in Dehradun and his work with the national team, he invested deeply in his shooters, building bonds that extended well beyond training and competition.
Strong-willed and fiercely protective of his athletes, Rana never hesitated to take on the establishment when he felt a principle was at stake.
Whether defending his coaching philosophy, fighting for recognition of his own achievements, or later championing the cause of his protege Manu Bhaker when she was initially overlooked for the Khel Ratna after her Paris Olympics success, he remained unwavering in his beliefs.
That uncompromising streak occasionally led to confrontations, but it also reflected the fierce loyalty and conviction that defined Rana.
When a dispute with the national federation prevented him from coaching Bhaker in his personal capacity, he refused to walk away.
Barred from entering the field of play at the Karni Singh Shooting Range, Rana famously guided his protege from the spectators' gallery instead, creating an unusual spectacle but also underscoring the lengths he was willing to go for a shooter he believed in.
For Rana, coaching was never just a profession; it was a commitment he defended with the same intensity that had marked his competitive career.
Bhaker's two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics were a moment of immense pride and vindication for Rana, coming three years after the pair had split ahead of the Tokyo Games over differences regarding his rigorous coaching methods.
Rana had always believed Bhaker possessed the talent to achieve what had eluded him -- an Olympic medal.
It was also validation of his greatest strength as a coach: spotting and nurturing exceptional talent.
Long before Bhaker's success, he had helped mould shooters such as Saurabh Chaudhary and Chinki Yadav from modest backgrounds into world-class performers.
As Olympic silver medallist Vijay Kumar said while paying tribute, "As a fellow competitor and teammate, I will always remember his dedication, passion and contribution to the sport."
Indian shooting lost not just one of its greatest marksmen, but a visionary whose influence would have continued to produce champions and perhaps many more Olympic medals for years to come.