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Swapnil Kusale (left) and Nita Ambani (AP/PTI)
Shooter Swapnil Kusale has won India’s first ever Olympic medal in men’s 50m Rifle 3 positions event at the ongoing Paris Games.
Shooters continue to shine for India at the Paris Games as Swapnil Kusale won the bronze medal on Thursday after finishing third in the men’s 50m Rifle Prone Positions event. Kusale thus became the first Indian to be medaled at an Olympics in the category.
With a final score of 451.4 in the eight-shooter finale, the 29-year-old took home bronze to take India’s tally to three medals – all from shooting. Manu Bhaker won a bronze in women’s 10m air pistol individual event before teaming up with Sarabjot Singh to clinch bronze in 10m air pistol mixed event too.
International Olympic Committee member Nita Ambani praised Kusale for his hard world and dedication while also congratulating the shooter’s family.
“We are incredibly proud of Swapnil Kusale for creating history at the Paris Olympics by winning India’s first-ever medal in the 50m rifle event, and our third Bronze in shooting at these Games,” Nita said in a statement.
“His hard work and dedication have brought glory to the nation! Heartiest congratulations to Swapnil, his family, and the entire team,” she added.
Kusale had finished seventh in a closely fought qualification round on Wednesday.
Born in Pune, he has been working for Central Railways since 2015 and is an admirer of legendary India cricketer MS Dhoni.
“I don’t follow anyone specific in the shooting world. Outside of that, I admire Dhoni for the person that he is. My sport requires me to be as calm and patient as he is on the field. I also relate to his story as I am a ticket collector like he was,” Kusale told news agency PTI.
Kusale was slow to start with but fought his way back to bag the third prize in his very first appearance in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle.
He was in the fourth place after the first standing series. Considered a high-scoring round, Kusale’s first shot of the final in kneeling was a lowly 9.6, but he made an excellent recovery after that. A 10.6 and 10.3 saw Kusale jump momentarily into the second place. But a 9.1 and a 10.1 in his next attempts pushed him back to fourth.
However, a 10.3 propelled him to the third place and he maintained that position to win a medal. He was placed sixth at 153.3 at the end of kneeling stage and by the time the prone stage concluded, he was fifth with a total of 310.1. In the final stages of the competition, Kusale upped his game and joined Bhaker and Sarabjot in the list of medal winners in this edition of the Games.
With PTI Inputs
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