Manu Bhaker recalls late coach Jaspal Rana after opening ceremony
Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker remembered her late coach Jaspal Rana after carrying the Indian flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony on Saturday, alongside kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat. "Missed Jaspal sir a lot today... It was indeed an emotional day without his presence by my side," she said. Rana, 49, died on June 11 and had guided her to two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bhaker will next compete in the 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and mixed team events.
Source
Times of India — Top · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- Manu Bhaker carried the Indian flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony alongside kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat. — Stated as fact in the source; no separate official attribution given.
- Bhaker said she missed Jaspal Rana and called it an emotional day. — Direct quote attributed to Bhaker after the ceremony.
- Jaspal Rana, a former shooter and coach, died on June 11 at the age of 49. — Figures appear in the source with no source cited for the date or age.
- Rana guided Bhaker to two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and she is the only athlete from independent India with two medals in one Olympic edition. — Presented as background fact in the source, unattributed.
- Bhaker will compete in women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events. — Schedule listed in source without citing the official entry list.
Analysts’ view opinion
Carrying the flag is an honour for Manu Bhaker, but her real test begins now. She walked out under the very rule her late coach Jaspal Rana had set for her — attend an opening ceremony only as flag-bearer, otherwise watch it on television — so this Asian Games carries both that sentiment and the void of his absence. With three events on her plate, the question is whether she can convert the confidence of her two Paris Olympic medals into results here.
- As the only athlete from independent India to win two medals at a single Olympics, Bhaker arrives carrying expectation as much as pedigree.
- A three-event programme — 10m air pistol, 25m pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team — widens her medal chances but also raises the physical and mental load.
- Shooting is decided as much by mental steadiness as by technique, so the absence of a long-time guiding coach is a factor that cannot simply be dismissed.
- This is her third Asian Games; having been based in Palembang and away from the 2018 opening ceremony, the flag-bearer role marks how far her standing has travelled.
- Sharing flag-bearer duty with kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat reads as a pairing of an individual Olympic sport with a home-grown team sport at the front of the contingent.
What to watch — Watch her qualification scores and who partners her in the mixed team event — those two things will largely decide how many medals she is in contention for.
The story does not establish her current form, recent scores, her present coaching arrangement or the event schedule, so any firm forecast of her medal prospects would be speculation.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 5 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Shooter Manu Bhaker, India's most decorated Olympian of the 2024 Paris Games, carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2026 at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Saturday, sharing flag-bearer duties with kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat. After the ceremony she spoke emotionally about her late coach Jaspal Rana, a former shooter and Asian Games flag-bearer himself, who died on June 11 at the age of 49. Rana had guided Bhaker to her two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and had told her to attend opening ceremonies only if she was the flag-bearer. This is Bhaker's third Asian Games, and she now shifts focus to the shooting events.
Key facts
- Manu Bhaker carried the Indian flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony on Saturday, alongside kabaddi player Pawan Sehrawat.
- Coach Jaspal Rana, a former shooter and coach, died on June 11 at the age of 49.
- Rana guided Bhaker to two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- Bhaker is the only athlete from independent India to win two medals at a single edition of the Olympics.
- The opening ceremony was held at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
- This is Bhaker's third Asian Games; she missed the 2018 opening ceremony as she was based in Palembang, away from the main athletes' village in Jakarta.
- Rana's rule for Bhaker: attend opening ceremonies only as flag-bearer, otherwise watch on television, as her competitions began soon after.
- Bhaker is scheduled to compete in the women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team events.
Timeline
- 2018Bhaker's first Asian Games; she missed the opening ceremony as she was based in Palembang, away from the athletes' village in Jakarta.
- 2018Bhaker attended the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and recalled Rana's advice to focus on her competition.
- 2024Bhaker wins two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics under Jaspal Rana's guidance.
- June 11Jaspal Rana dies at the age of 49.
- Saturday (Asian Games 2026)Bhaker carries the Indian flag with Pawan Sehrawat at the opening ceremony at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium and remembers Rana.
Who has a stake
- Manu Bhaker — Flag-bearer at her third Asian Games; must now convert an emotional occasion into medals in three pistol events.
- Jaspal Rana (late coach) — Former shooter, coach and past Asian Games flag-bearer whose mentorship shaped Bhaker's Paris Olympics double bronze.
- Pawan Sehrawat — Kabaddi star sharing India's flag-bearer honour, signalling recognition for the sport at the Asian Games.
- Indian contingent at Asian Games 2026 — Represented at the opening ceremony by its two flag-bearers; shooting remains a core medal hope.
Why it matters
Flag-bearer selection is among the highest symbolic honours for an athlete, and choosing Bhaker and Sehrawat highlights shooting and kabaddi as India's Asian Games strengths. The story also underlines how central coaching relationships are to elite performance: Bhaker's Paris double bronze, unmatched by any athlete of independent India in a single Olympics, was built under Jaspal Rana. Her transition from ceremony to competition tests whether India's most successful recent Olympian can deliver across three pistol events.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Manu Bhaker is the only athlete from independent India to win two medals at a single Olympic Games (Paris 2024, two bronze).
- India's flag-bearers at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony: Manu Bhaker (shooting) and Pawan Sehrawat (kabaddi).
- Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony venue: Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
- Jaspal Rana, former shooter and coach of Manu Bhaker, died on June 11 aged 49; he was once an Asian Games flag-bearer.
- The 2018 Asian Games were held in Jakarta with shooting-related events at Palembang.
- Bhaker's Asian Games 2026 events: women's 10m air pistol, women's 25m pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team.
Mains framing
The story illustrates the human infrastructure behind India's Olympic and Asian Games success: Manu Bhaker's historic two bronze medals at Paris 2024 were achieved under coach Jaspal Rana, whose death on June 11 at 49 leaves a visible gap in her preparation, as she acknowledged after carrying India's flag at the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony. Rana's own counsel — that she attend opening ceremonies only as flag-bearer and otherwise watch on television because her events began soon after — reflects the tension between ceremonial honour and competitive readiness that athletes in early-scheduled disciplines such as shooting routinely face. Her 2018 experience, when she missed the ceremony because she was based in Palembang away from the Jakarta athletes' village, shows how multi-city hosting can also separate athletes from the contingent. The choice of a shooter and a kabaddi player as flag-bearers signals where India expects its medals to come from. The way forward lies in sustaining coach-athlete continuity, planning competition schedules so ceremonial participation does not compromise performance, and building support systems that survive the loss of individual mentors.
Key terms
- Flag-bearer
- The athlete chosen to carry the national flag for the contingent at a multi-sport games opening ceremony.
- Asian Games
- Continental multi-sport event; Bhaker is competing at her third edition in 2026.
- 10m air pistol mixed team
- Shooting event pairing a male and female shooter, one of three events Bhaker will contest.
- Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium
- Venue of the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony where Bhaker carried the Indian flag.
- Jaspal Rana
- Former Indian shooter and coach, a past Asian Games flag-bearer, who mentored Bhaker; died June 11 at 49.
Practice questions
- How do coach-athlete relationships shape elite sporting outcomes in India? Discuss with reference to Manu Bhaker's Paris 2024 performance.
- Examine the significance of flag-bearer selection at multi-sport events as an indicator of a nation's sporting priorities.
- Scheduling conflicts often force athletes to skip opening ceremonies. Suggest measures to balance ceremonial participation with competitive preparation.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.