The Hindu : Sport : Jaspal Rana answers critics in style

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Saturday, Dec 09, 2006
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Jaspal Rana answers critics in style

Kamesh Srinivasan

India adds another team gold to the tally

— Photo: AFP

GOLD RUSH: India's Jaspal Rana equalled the world record in the men's 25-metre centre fire pistol event on the way to winning his second individual gold medal in two days at the 15th Asian Games in Doha. Rana, who shot a total score of 590 on Friday to match the record set in 1989, also helped India win gold in the team event.

DOHA: From a prodigy Jaspal Rana became a pistol giant as he shot a World record 590 in centrefire pistol to add two more gold medals for India in the 15th Asian Games at the Lusail Shooting range here on Friday.

In a breathtaking performance, Jaspal set the stage for the record with a 294 out of 300 in the precision series, with three rounds of 98. He intimidated the rest of the field with a 296 in the dueling series with a sequence of 100, 98 and 98.

Six others share the World record set as far back as in 1989 by Afanasijs Kuzmins in the European Championship at Zagreb.

In fact, Jaspal's last two shots were 9s as he was perhaps thinking about the record. Though the gold looked to have been secured, for there are few in the world who can match the 30-year-old Uttaranchal lad in duelling, Jaspal and the rest of the Indian shooting fraternity had to wait, as the leader in the precision stage, Susumu Kobayashi of Japan with a 295 was shooting in the second batch.

In the event, the Japanese obliged pretty quickly as he missed seven points in the first series itself to ensure the gold for Jaspal. The defending champion Kim Jong Su of Korea finished sixth with a 581. Li Guohui of China won his second silver with a 587.

Speechless

Overwhelmed by the emotions and the gravity of the achievement on the big stage, Jaspal was caught speechless as tears rolled down his cheeks. There were a battery of mobile phones thrust to him even as Jaspal clutched on to the national flags and talked to the Indian television networks back home about the blazing finish when he secured three gold and a silver medal from two events.

"I am quite happy. It is a great feeling to win the Asian Games gold with a World record. There was pressure, but without pressure you cannot achieve anything. It helps you. I still have fever, but am shooting very well and I did it,'' said Jaspal. He was indeed unflinching under pressure and showed his genius with a pistol.

Good haul

With Samaresh Jung shooting a 100 in the last series in duelling and Vijay Kumar compiling an impressive 294 in his duelling series, the Indian team bagged the gold, 10 points ahead of Korea.

Thus, the Indian team took its tally from the shooting range to 14 medals including three gold and five silver. Incidentally, Indian shooting had won only two gold, nine silver and six bronze for a total of 17 in all the previous editions put together. In the last Games at Busan, Indian shooters returned with two team silver medals.

One of those two earlier gold was by Jaspal in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima. So, of the five gold medals, he owns four, and the other belongs to the secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association, Randhir Singh, who won the trap event in 1978.

"It is a very happy ending. I had requested Jaspal at the beginning of the season that he should give me some record scores, focusing only on standard and centrefire pistol. He shot a brilliant 590. I couldn't have asked for anything better,'' said national coach Prof. Sunny Thomas.

In the last Asian Games at Busan, Jaspal had finished tenth in centrefire pistol with a 581 and twelfth in standard pistol with a 568. The team had finished sixth and seventh respectively.

It was indeed a classical story of the phoenix rising from the ashes. Over the years, Jaspal Rana has been written off as a spent force many times, but people have been forced to eat their words, time and again. Quickly summing up, Prof. Thomas stressed that India had a very long way to go before it could think of matching China. He assured that the immediate goal was to get more quota places for the Olympics. India has won six Olympic quota places so far.

The spectacular finish pushed behind the disappointing fare of the skeet shooters who struggled with the gloomy conditions as much as with their own poor form. Mairaj Ahmad Khan (112), Man Singh (112) and Allan Daniel Peoples (110) finished 28th, 29th and 32nd respectively in a field of 39.

The results: Centrefire pistol: 1. Jaspal Rana 590; 2. Liu Guohui (Chn) 587; 3. Jakkrit Panichpatikum (Tha) 586; 9. Vijay Kumar 580; 12. Samaresh Jung 578.

Team: 1. India 1748; 2. Korea 1738; 3. China 1735.

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