India’s Swapnil Kusale won a historic bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3-position event. Swapnil finished with a total score of 451.4, giving India its third medal at the Paris Olympics.
Swapnil became the first Indian ever to reach event’s final
Swapnil made history as the first Indian to advance to the event’s final. He was previously in the top five positions and just advanced to the medal positions after the event’s final standing phase began.
In yesterday’s qualification event, the 28-year-old Indian shooter scored 590 points, including 38 inner 10s (Xs) over three places. He got 198 in the kneeling position, 197 in the prone position, and 195 in the upright position.
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Swapnil’s medal is India’s third medal at Paris Olympics
The 28-year-old’s medal follows Manu Bhaker’s stunning performance, in which she won bronze, each in the women’s 10m air pistol and the mixed team 10m air pistol event alongside Sarabjot Singh.
India’s three medals thus far have all come from shooting events. The last time a 50m rifle shooter made the Olympic finals was in 2012 in London, when Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in the 50m rifle prone event, which has since been eliminated from the Olympics. Kusale, a former ticket collector, gets inspiration from cricket legend MS Dhoni.
