Asian Shooting: Jaspal Rana debarred from Field of Play for dress code violation

NEW DELHI: When Manu Bhaker was shooting in the women’s 25m pistol match, her coach Jaspal Rana was sitting in the spectator’s gallery on Monday.

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As per being the national coach too, Rana should have sat behind Manu in the Field of Play (FOP), however, a dress code violation made him sit with the spectators. National assistant coach Wazir Singh Rathi sat as Manu’s coach in the FOP.




“The coach was wearing brown trousers, and as per the International Shooting Sports Federations rules, it is not allowed as brown is worn by the military staff. The coach was asked to leave the FOP due to the dress code violation,” said Haniyeh Khandani, the international Jury from Iran, who didn’t allow Rana in the FOP.

Manu took silver in a nailbiting final that saw two shootoffs. However, Rana said that him sitting in the gallery didn’t matter much.

“It is okay. The jury thought it was a code violation, so she asked me to sit out. But that didn’t change anything. I don’t think there was any need for me at the FOP,” Rana told TOI.

Anjali Bhagwat wins first international medal

It sounded like time travel when the announcer at the Dr Karni Singh final range announced Anjali Bhagwat winning bronze in the junior women’s 25m pistol. However, it wasn’t the Olympian rifle shooter to have climbed a pistol podium; it was rather her namesake from Nashik, who had won her maiden international medal. Anjali was named after the veteran rifle shooter.

“We were Bhagwats already, so my father thought of naming me Anjali after Anjali ma’am. He followed shooting and later I also started liking it,” junior Anjali, told TOI.

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