Olympics: Swapnil Kusale wins historic bronze medal in 50m rifle event

Swapnil Kusale clinches a historic bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions event. Swapnil scored a total score of 451.4 to clinch India's 3rd medal in the Paris Olympics.

Being the first Indian to make it to the final of the event earlier, Swapnil has created history in the event. He was lingering in the top 5 positions earlier and made it into the medal positions only after the start of the final standing section of the event.

In the qualification event yesterday, the 28-year-old Indian shooter, achieved a total score of 590, including 38 inner 10s (Xs), across three positions. He scored 198 in the kneeling position, 197 in the prone position, and 195 in the standing position.

The 28-year-old's medal follows Manu Bhaker's impressive performance, where she secured the women's 10m air pistol gold and a bronze in the mixed team 10m air pistol event with Sarabjot Singh.

 

India's three medals so far have all come from shooting events. The last time a 50m rifle shooter reached the Olympic finals was in 2012 London, when Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in the 50m rifle prone event, a discipline that has since been removed from the Olympics. Kusale, once a ticket collector, draws inspiration from cricket legend MS Dhoni.

Swapnil At Asian Games 2022 for India

In the team event for the 50m rifle 3 positions at last year's Asian Games in Hangzhou, Kusale, Tomar, and Akhil Sheoran secured the gold medal.

Kusale, who is coached by Tejaswini Sawant in Kolhapur, finished fourth in the 50m rifle 3 positions at the Asian Games last year.