Swapnil Kusale clinched the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Paris Olympics shooting competition on Thursday. India has won three medals at the 2024 Summer Games so far, all bronze, by shooters.
Kusale's first-ever Olympic bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions event took the country's overall medal tally to three at the ongoing Paris Games.
Swapnil Kusale secured his place in the final after finishing seventh in the qualification round of men's 50m 3P on Wednesday. Fellow Indian shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar missed the cut by finishing 11th.
Notably, this was India's first-ever Olympic shooting medal in this category. So far, India has won three medals in rifle shooting. The first one was won by Abhinav Bindra, who clinched the gold medal in men's 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008, and the second was Gagan Narang's bronze in the same event at the London Olympics 2012.
Hours after Swapnil Kusale's bronze-winning performance in the Olympics shooting event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the Indian shooter at the Olympics for his “exceptional” performance. He also noted that Kusale is the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the category.
Modi posted on X, “Exceptional performance by Swapnil Kusale! Congrats to him for winning the Bronze medal in the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the Paris Olympics 2024. His performance is special because he’s shown great resilience and skills. He is also the first Indian athlete to win a medal in this category. Every Indian is filled with happiness.”
Indian shooter Manu Bhaker opened the nation's account at the Paris Olympics 2024 by winning a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol event. A day later, she made history by becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics. She won another bronze with Sarabjot Singh in a play-off match in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The Paris Olympics has been a redemption arc for Manu after her pistol malfunctioned at the Tokyo Olympics.
