2024 Paris Olympics: Who is India's medal-winning shooter Swapnil Kusale?
Swapnil Kusale scripted history on Thursday by becoming the first Indian ever to win a medal in the 50m Rifle 3 positions event at the Olympics. Kusale attained the feat at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping his nation win its third bronze medal. 28-year-old Kusale shot a total of 451.4 in the final to finish third behind China's Liu Yukun and Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish.
Why does this story matter?
Kusale shot a total of 153.3 in the kneeling position, 156.8 in prone, and 101.5 in ten standing shots before the one-shot elimination round began. Kusale started slowly and was sixth at the end of the kneeling series. By the end of the prone position, he was fourth. At the end of the standing series, he was third. He dominated the one-shot elimination round.
Many firsts for India
On Wednesday, Kusale became the first Indian shooter to qualify for the final event (men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions). He shot 590 in the qualifying round and finished seventh. This is the first instance of India winning three medals in a single event. Manu Bhaker won an individual bronze medal before winning the bronze in 10m air pistol mixed team event alongside Sarobjot Singh.
Ticket collector for the Indian Railways in Pune
Kusale was born on August 6, 1995, in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district. In 2009, Kusale's father enrolled him into Maharashtra government's Krida Prabhodini sports programme. After one year of hardcore physical training, Kusale chose shooting. In 2015, he became a ticket collector for the Indian Railways in Pune. As per reports, this helped him buy his first rifle.
Several accolades in 50m Rifle 3 positions team event
Kusale won the bronze medal in 50m Rifle 3 positions team event at the 2022 World Championships in Cairo. In 2021, he won the gold medal in the Shooting World Cup held in New Delhi (50m Rifle 3 positions team). He won a silver medal (team event) at the 2023 Asian Shooting Championships. He won gold at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championships 2024 (team event).
What about individual accolades?
In 2017, Kusale bagged an individual bronze medal at the Commonwealth Championships. This came in the 50m rifle prone event. He missed out on medals with fourth place finishes at the 2022 World Championships and the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
