Swapnil Kusale made history on Thursday by becoming the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event. He secured a bronze medal with a total score of 451.4 in the men's final. This notable achievement adds to India's growing list of successes by Indian shooters at the Paris Olympics.
The Indian team has won a total of 3 medals in this Paris Olympics. The shooting team has won all of these medals. Earlier in the competition, Manu Bhaker claimed a bronze medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol event. Additionally, Manu Bhaker teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win another bronze in the mixed team 10m Air Pistol event.
Who is Swapnil Kusale?
Swapnil Kusale, born on August 6, 1995, in Pune, made his Olympic debut this year at Paris 2024. He secured his spot by finishing fourth in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event at the 2022 World Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
Kusale was part of the Indian team that set a world record of scoring 1769 points at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, held in 2023. He along with Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran won the gold medal in the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions team event.
Additionally, Kusale won three medals at the 2023 World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan: one gold and two silver.
Swapnil’s Journey To Medal
By winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, Swapnil Kusale broke a streak of near misses. He had previously finished fourth at both the World Championships and the Asian Games, but this time, he secured third place at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event final, Kusale started in sixth place with a score of 153.3 at the end of the kneeling stage. By the end of the prone stage, he moved up to fifth place with a total score of 310.1, just 0.6 points behind Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish, who was in third.
During the first five shots in the standing stage, Kusale scored 51.1, which advanced him to fourth place, now only 0.4 points away from the third spot.
ALSO READ: Indians Making History: List of Indian Athletes Achieving Firsts This Paris Olympics 2024
Swapnil Kusale’s Medal History
| Event | Location | Year | Medal | Event Type |
| Asian Championship | Korea | 2023 | Silver | 10m Air Rifle Individual |
| World Championship | Cairo | 2022 | Gold | 10m Air Rifle Team |
| ISSF World Cup | Changwon | 2022 | Gold | 10m Air Rifle Individual |
| ISSF World Cup | Changwon | 2022 | Gold | 10m Air Rifle Men Team |
| World University Games | Chengdu | 2021 | Gold | 10m Air Rifle Individual |
Indian Shooters Medals in the Olympics
Indian athletes had never won any medals in shooting till the 2004 Athens Olympics. It all started with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore winning a silver medal in the Men’s double trap.
| Shooter | Event | Medal | Olympics |
| Swapnil Kusale | Men’s 50m rifle 3P | Bronze | Paris 2024 |
| Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh | Mixed team 10m air pistol | Bronze | Paris 2024 |
| Manu Bhaker | Women’s 10m air pistol | Bronze | Paris 2024 |
| Vijay Kumar | Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol | Silver | London 2012 |
| Gagan Narang | Men’s 10m air rifle | Bronze | London 2012 |
| Abhinav Bindra | Men’s 10m air rifle | Gold | Beijing 2008 |
| Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Men’s double trap | Silver | Athens 2004 |
-1758804921801.jpg)
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation