Swapnil Kusale won the third medal for India at the 2024 Paris Olympics, claiming bronze in mens 50m Rifle 3 Positions with a score of 451.4 in the eight-shooter final today. All three medals so far for India have come in shooting events. Manu Bhakar won the first medal with a bronze in womens 10m air pistol and another bronze in 10m air pistol mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh as her partner.

A railway ticket collector, 29-year-old from Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra has been competing in international events since 2012 but he had to wait another 12 years to make his Olympics debut at the Paris Games.

A Central Railways employee since 2015, Swapnil was born in a family with an agricultural background. His father enrolled him in Maharashtra government primary programme dedicated to sports, Krida Prabhodini. After a year of hardcore physical training, Swapnil chose shooting in 2009, and was taken under the fold of Lakshya Sports in 2013.

He won gold in Asian Games team event last year, gold in mixed team event in World Cup and bronze in World Championship team event. He was one of the first Indian shooters to earn an Olympic quota, in Cairo in 2022.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale poses with his bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on 1 August 2024.