“This medal means a lot. It is not a gold, but I am pleased I got a medal. To get an Olympic medal is a dream,” Swapnil Kusale said.
Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Paris 2024 Olympics shooting competition on Thursday.
This achievement marks India’s first-ever Olympic shooting medal in the 50m 3P event and its third overall in rifle shooting, following Abhinav Bindra’s gold in the men’s 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008 and Gagan Narang’s bronze in the same event at London 2012.
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“I have a lot of emotions right now,” Kusale said. “This medal means a lot. It is not a gold, but I am pleased I got a medal. To get an Olympic medal is a dream.”
Competing at the National Shooting Center in Châteauroux, Kusale was initially in sixth place after the first 15 shots in the kneeling position, scoring 153.3, two points behind Norwegian shooter Jon-Hermann Hegg, who led at that stage.
However, Kusale’s consistent performance in the prone and standing positions helped him climb to third place by the end of stage 1, leading to the elimination of the bottom two shooters.
In stage 2, where one shooter was eliminated after each shot, Kusale’s scores of 10.5, 9.4, and 9.9 secured his place in the top three and guaranteed a medal. A subsequent score of 10.0 was insufficient to keep him in the race for the gold.
The gold medal went to Liu Yukun of the People’s Republic of China, who is the world record holder in this event, with a score of 463.6. Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish secured the silver with 461.3, adding to his previous silver from Rio 2016. Kusale finished with a tally of 451.4.
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Swapnil Kusale had earned his place in the eight-man final by finishing seventh in the qualifiers with a score of 590. Fellow Indian shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar narrowly missed the final cut, finishing eighth.
India has now secured three medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, all in shooting. Before Kusale’s bronze, Manu Bhaker won a bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event and later teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to secure another bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.