Suma Shirur doffs her hat to ‘endearing friend’ Jaspal Rana

Suma Shirur

Former India shooter Suma Shirur has said that shooting legend and coach Jaspal Rana, who passed away on Friday, will be remembered most through the laughs he shared with his many friends off the range.

Olympian Shirur, who is currently the high performance director at her Lakshya Shooting Club in Navi Mumbai, recalled a fun incident with Rana: "In 1999, we were travelling with other shooters across Europe for training. It was May 10, my birthday. In those days communications were much slower, no cellphones. Money in the sport was not as much as it is now. Rana actually got through a landline, and handed over the phone to me. It was Siddharth, my to-be husband, I got married later that year. It was such a thoughtful gesture and has stayed with me throughout."

On the range, in the lane, Shirur said, "Rana was a super athlete, a natural, a flag-bearer of shooting. Later, we coached shooters at the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy. On the range, he was very passionate about the sport, off it, he was funny and endeared himself to all, keeping us all laughing."