‘Discipline changed everything’: Manu Bhakera’s father recalls Jaspal Rana’s greatest contribution

File image: Jaspal Rana and Manu Bhaker (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Grieving the untimely demise of legendary shooter and coach Jaspal Rana, two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker’s father Ram Kishan has revealed that the former shooter’s greatest contribution to his daughter’s career was instilling discipline, confidence and a result-oriented mindset that eventually helped mold her into a champion.Rana, 49, died on Thursday after battling heart complications, leaving the Indian sports fraternity in mourning. The former pistol ace played a key role in guiding Manu to her historic double bronze performance at the Paris Olympics.Speaking about the decorated shooter’s profound impact on his daughter, Ram Kishan described Rana as a strict taskmaster who always demanded the highest standards.“The biggest contribution that Jaspal Rana made to Manu’s shooting career was to inculcate discipline, focus, hard work and a result-oriented approach. He was a good coach. The training he imparted to Manu was excellent. It is a huge tragedy that he passed away like this,” Kishan told PTI.

‘Hard on the outside, soft on the inside’

Recalling Rana’s personality, Manu’s father said the coach constantly pushed his charges to improve and had complete faith in their abilities.“What he was telling Manu was: work hard and believe in yourself. Be confident. You have a fighting spirit. You can do it. And you will,” he recalled.“He was a tough taskmaster but good at heart. Hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He was a legendary scorer and a result-oriented coach. He used to constantly scold and get angry like a little child when you didn’t listen to him. But Manu preferred a strict and disciplined life,” he added.

From differences to Parisian glory

He also shed light on the differences between Rana and Manu ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. According to Kishan, Rana wanted Manu to focus on just one event, while she wanted to compete in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol categories.The disagreement affected the youngster psychologically and even led her to question whether she should continue in the sport.However, before the Paris Olympics, the two reunited and Rana supported Manu’s ambition to compete in both events.“Rana encouraged her and told her that she can do it. From then on, Manu’s form improved,” said Kishan.Reflecting on the lessons his daughter learned from her coach, he added, “Manu realized that if there is discipline, anything is possible. If you understand these things, everything else will be easy.”