New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will introduce the Jaspal Rana Memorial Trophy at the Asian Games to honour the legacy of the legendary Indian shooter and carry forward his contribution to Indian shooting to future generations.
The trophy will be awarded to the Best Female Athlete of the Asian Games, according to IOA president P.T. Usha, who made the announcement at the launch of Maverick Jaspal, a book documenting the life and career of Jaspal Rana. The book has been authored by S. Kannan and G. Rajaraman.
Usha said Rana’s contribution to Indian sport extended beyond his achievements as a shooter. After establishing himself as a champion athlete, he played an important role as a coach and mentor, helping develop and guide other shooters.
“Memory, however valuable, belongs to one generation. Legacy belongs to the next,” Usha said while speaking about the initiative.
She noted that Maverick Jaspal presents different dimensions of Rana’s personality and career, portraying him not only as a champion shooter but also as a coach, mentor, colleague and friend.
Rana was among India’s most accomplished shooters and won three gold medals at the Asian Games. He won the 25m centre-fire pistol gold at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and claimed two gold medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, in the 25m centre-fire pistol and 25m standard pistol events.
Born in 1976 in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, Rana took up shooting at a young age and went on to make a significant mark in international competition.
Usha highlighted the distinction between winning medals as an athlete and contributing to medals through coaching. She said that when a coach prepares an athlete who eventually wins a medal, the medal carries the contribution of the coach even though the athlete’s name appears on it.
Rana died in June this year at the age of 49.
Referring to his relationship with Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, Usha recalled Rana’s support for the shooter and her long preparation before her success at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She also referred to a photograph of Rana embracing Bhaker after her Olympic achievement, saying it reflected his pride, relief and affection as a mentor.
Raja Randhir Singh Memorial Trophy for Best Male Athlete
The IOA will also introduce the Raja Randhir Singh Memorial Trophy for the Best Male Athlete at the Asian Games.
According to Usha, the two memorial trophies will honour the contributions of two prominent figures associated with Indian sport and the Olympic movement.
Raja Randhir Singh was a five-time Olympian and a prominent figure in Indian sports administration. He remained associated with sports administration for several decades and held important roles in the Indian and international Olympic movement. He died on May 27, 2026, aged 79.
Usha said the memorial trophies are intended not merely as tributes but also as a way of introducing future generations of athletes to the contributions of the two sporting figures.
She said that if a future Asian Games champion receives the Jaspal Rana Memorial Trophy and asks who Jaspal Rana was and why the award carries his name, the initiative would have achieved its purpose.
The IOA believes that preserving sporting legacies through awards can help connect emerging athletes with the achievements and contributions of earlier generations. The proposed trophies will therefore place the names of Rana and Randhir Singh within the Asian Games framework while recognising the achievements of future Indian athletes.
