Jaspal Rana’s three gold medals at 2006 Doha Asian Games
On December 7 and 8, 2006, in Doha, Qatar, at the 15th Asian Games, shooter Jaspal Rana won three gold and one silver medal.
At the Lusail Shooting Complex, he sobbed uncontrollably after his outstanding performance. The 30-year-old shooter increased his total number of medals at the quadrennial competition to four gold and two silver by competing in his fourth Asian Games.
Jaspal was left to take home the top prize after the other outstanding Indian shooters failed to win the gold medal. He had done it at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games, but not many expected him to repeat it in Doha after a gap of 12 years when he had been distracted by so many facets of life.
Jaspal was composed and concentrated on his technique throughout his events in Doha. Despite having a fever and feeling lightheaded, he continued to hit the target without letting anything distract him. On December 8, nevertheless, Jaspal was seconds away from breaking the world record for the centre-fire pistol when he suddenly became overcome with emotion, only managing 9s on his final two shots.
Maybe that was his fate. Jaspal could have easily hit the tens given his current physical condition. However, his performance was commendable enough to earn him both the individual gold and the team gold for India. It also entered his name in the record books with half a dozen other shooters.
Jaspal expressed his happiness at having won the gold with a strong performance. In the end, Samaresh Jung and Vijay Kumar behaved impeccably to make sure that India retained the team gold.
Jaspal’s winning streak had started the day before in conventional pistol. He gained notoriety in 1994 by winning the World Junior Championship in this competition.
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