“Son, if you win today, the whole world will stand with you. But if you don’t, I’ll still be right by your side." It is this profound line from legendary coach Jaspal Rana that has guided India’s ace rapid-fire pistol shooter Anish Bhanwala over the years.
As Anish came to terms with the loss of Rana — one of India’s greatest pistol shooters who successfully reinvented himself as a coach and later guided Manu Bhaker to her historic twin bronze medals at the Paris Olympics — he was reminded of the reassurance the legend had offered him.
Rana, who passed away at the age of 49 following cardiac complications, had played a pivotal role in giving Anish the confidence to claim the Commonwealth Games gold medal at Gold Coast in 2018.
“I would like to mention the 2018 Commonwealth Games. There is one line that repeatedly comes to my mind. The first half of my competition didn’t go well and I shot 286. I was worried that I might not make the final in rapid fire.
“Before the start of the second day at the range, he called me back from my station and said, ‘Beta, if you do well today and win, the entire world will be with you. But if you don’t, main phir bhi aapke saath hoon‘ (I’ll still be right by your side)." “Those words completely took the pressure off me. I went on to shoot one of my best scores there and won the gold medal," Anish, the 2018 CWG champion and 2025 world championships silver medallist, said recalling the day.
Anish was fortunate to spend a fortnight training with Rana at a range in Italy ahead of the World Cup in Munich and the upcoming Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
To his surprise, Rana repeated the very same words to him once again — eight years after first saying them —reinforcing the bond and faith that had shaped his career.
Reminiscing about the time he, Manu Bhaker and Rana spent together during a training stint in Italy, Anish said he noticed a remarkable change in the legendary coach’s demeanour, one that seemed almost philosophical.
“Last month, we went to Italy for training before the Munich World Cup. Manu was there, I was there and he was there. It may have been a coincidence or perhaps it was planned, but during those two weeks he was a different person. He was not the Jaspal Rana we had always known.
“The way he spoke, his nature, every little thing pointed to the fact that something had changed.
“He was very soft, not harsh at all, and would randomly share life lessons. I would just sit and listen. I feel fortunate that in his final days I got to spend so much quality time with him over those two weeks and learn so much," Anish added.
Anish, a former junior world champion in standard pistol and one of India’s brightest medal prospects in the Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, revealed that Rana had big plans for him.
Affectionately addressing him as ‘Babu’, the legendary coach had laid out an ambitious roadmap for Anish’s future in the sport.
“He never called me Anish; he always called me Babu. He would say, ‘Babu, serious toh hona padega (one day you will have to become serious)’, and often tell me, ‘You are the chosen one’.
“Talking about the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles, he told me, ‘I can see that you can certainly do it, provided you stay on the right path’. He would say, ‘Give me two years and then see how things change’. Those were the kinds of discussions we were having in Italy.
“I was looking forward to training with him again in Dehradun soon," said Anish, whose association with Rana began in 2015-16 when the latter was put in charge of the junior pistol squad.
“From 2017 onwards, he started coaching me after I entered the junior national team. In 1994, he (Rana) became world champion and broke the world record in the standard pistol event. In 2017, I broke that same world record. It was a special connection that we shared," Anish said.
When Anish broke into the junior national team, he quickly learnt that Rana was far from an easy coach. A strict disciplinarian and a hard taskmaster, he pushed his shooters relentlessly in pursuit of excellence.
“He was not a normal coach. He was a hard taskmaster and not every youngster liked his style of coaching. I was no different; at times, I felt his methods were a bit too harsh. But as we matured, we realised that everything he did was for our benefit. He knew exactly what was needed to bring out the best in us," Anish said.
Growing emotional as he recalled his conversations with Rana in Italy, Anish admitted that although he was not someone who expressed his feelings easily, the news of his mentor’s death had left him in tears.
“During our trip to Italy, I told him, ‘Sir, I’m probably the last person to get emotional. No matter how badly a competition goes, I don’t get emotional or cry.’ He was surprised and asked, ‘How is that possible?’ I told him I couldn’t even remember the last time I had cried.
“Then he said, ‘After all, you are a human being. One day, you too will become emotional.’ And now, when I think about those words, I really do get emotional," Anish said.
