Fact Check: Is Samrat Rana related to Olympian Jaspal Rana?

Samrat Rana is coached by his father Ashok Rana.

Shooter Samrat Rana etched his name into the history books on Monday, November 10, in Cairo, Egypt. He became India’s first-ever world champion in the 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Shooting Championships.

Moreover, Rana is also now the third Indian after Abhinav Bindra and Rudrankksh Patil to clinch a World Championship gold medal in an Olympic shooting discipline.

Bindra clinched the gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships, while Patil won the biggest prize in the men’s 10m air rifle shooting at the ISSF President’s Cup 2022.

Competing in his first World championships, Samrat Rana shot 243.7 to finish 0.4 points ahead of China’s Hu Kai to win the yellow metal. Meanwhile, India’s Varun Tomar took home the bronze medal with 221.7 points.

Is Samrat Rana related to Jaspal Rana?

Although their surnames match, Samrat Rana is not associated with former Indian shooter Jaspal Rana. Notably, Jaspal is the country’s most successful athlete in the Commonwealth Games’ history, winning a total of 15 medals, including nine golds across four editions. He is also the recipient of the Arjuna and the Padma Shri awards.

Jaspal is also known for mentoring young shooters and has helped in the growth of the game in India. As a result, he also won the Dronacharya award in 2020. Currently, he coaches double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker.

Meanwhile, Samrat started shooting in 2018 under the guidance of his father-cum-coach Ashok. According to the 20-year-old, it was his father’s unfulfilled dream to make a career in shooting, but he could not find a proper training facility in his village.

“My father wanted to become a shooter, but he didn’t have the means to train,” he said. “But, he was always interested in the sport and encouraged me to take up shooting. I train with my father at my home in Karnal.”

It was in 2015 that Samrat Rana’s family shifted from the village to Karnal district for better education. While noting multiple shooting ranges in Karnal, Ashok sought to live his dream through Samrat and enrolled him in an academy.

At the age of 17, Samrat won gold in both the men’s and mixed team events at the 2022 ISSF Junior World Championships in Cairo. Although he finished 10th at the 2025 ISSF World Cup in Ningbo, his performance was impressive and promised a bright future for the skillful athlete.

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