Who is Swapnil Kusale? First Indian to win Bronze in the men’s 50m rifle 3P event

Swapnil Kusale carved his name in Indian history by becoming the first Indian shooter to win a bronze medal in the 50m rifle three positions event.

This was the first time that India had won a medal in this event at the Olympics, marking a major milestone for Indian shooting. Kusale finished the men’s final with a total score of 451.4 points, showcasing his extraordinary talent and dedication to the sport.

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The 29-year-old bronze medalist scored 195 points in the standing position, 156.8 in the prone position and 153.3 in the kneeling position. He finished seventh in the qualifying round with a total score of 590 points, including 38 inside tens (X) in three positions.

Swapnil Kusale: From rural Maharashtra to Olympic podium

Swapnil Kusale was born on August 6, 1995, in Kambalwadi village in Kolhapur district. Due to his interest in sports, his father enrolled him in the Maharashtra government’s Krida Prabhodini sports programme in 2009.

After a year of hard work, Swapnil finally chose shooting as one of his main sports and embarked on the journey to become a professional shooter.

In 2015, the Olympic bronze medalist became a ticket collector for Indian Railways in Pune, which helped him buy his first rifle in his shooting career.

In the same year, he won the 50m rifle prone event in the junior category at the 2015 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait for the third time in a row. The following year, he won the 50m rifle prone event at the 59th National Shooting Championships in Tughlaqabad, defeating Gagan Narang and Chand Singh.

After two years of rigorous training, he participated in the 61st National Championships held in Trivandrum in 2017 and performed well again, winning the gold medal in the 50m rifle third place.

His outstanding skills did not stop there. In October 2022, he finished fourth at the 2022 ISSF World Shooting Championships in Cairo, earning India an Olympic quota in the men’s 50m rifle three positions event.

Kusale was selected for the Indian Olympic 50m rifle three positions event after successfully qualifying in trials held in Delhi and Bhopal in May 2024. Despite being ranked fifth in the final trials, Kusale was selected in the team as the second shooter based on his performance in the first three trials.

Kusale eventually won the bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle three-position event at the 2024 Olympics with a score of 451.4, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat.

Kusale’s awards and achievements

Here is Swapnil Kusale’s journey from winning the Asian Shooting Championships junior title to becoming the first Indian shooter to win a bronze medal in the 50m Rifle 3P event.

event	Year	Place	medal	category
Paris Olympics	2024	Chateauroux National Shooting Center	bronze	50m Rifle 3 Positions
World Championship	2022	Cairo	bronze	See more : Optical Illusion: If you have Sharp Eyes find the Word Cloy among Ploy in 20 Secs 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team
World Cup	2021	New Delhi	Gold	See more : Optical Illusion: If you have Sharp Eyes find the Word Cloy among Ploy in 20 Secs 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team
Asian Games	2022	Hangzhou	Gold	See more : Optical Illusion: If you have Sharp Eyes find the Word Cloy among Ploy in 20 Secs 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team
Asian Shooting Championships	2023	Changwon	silver	See more : Optical Illusion: If you have Sharp Eyes find the Word Cloy among Ploy in 20 Secs 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team
Asian Rifle/Pistol Championships	2024	Jakarta	Gold	See more : Optical Illusion: If you have Sharp Eyes find the Word Cloy among Ploy in 20 Secs 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team
Commonwealth Championships	2017	Brisbane	bronze	50m rifle prone shooting

“I’m very emotional right now,” Kussale said. “This medal means a lot. Even though it’s not gold, I’m very happy to get it. It’s my dream to win an Olympic medal.”

At the competition held at the National Shooting Centre in Châteauroux, Coussalay finished sixth after shooting the first 15 shots from the kneeling position, scoring 153.3 points, just two points behind the leading Norwegian shooter Jon Herman at the time.

In the three-lying and two-standing shooting series, the 28-year-old Indian shooter climbed to third place with his consistent shooting performance. In the second stage, where one shooter was eliminated with each shot, Kusale maintained the top three positions with scores of 10.5, 9.4 and 9.9 and won a medal.

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Optical Illusion