Swapnil Kusale claimed a bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 position on Thursday, August 1 to help India clinch its third medal at the ongoing Paris Olympics. Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine won the silver and Yukun Liu of China claimed the gold medal. China's Liu was the hot favourite to win the contest as he was the world record holder in the event. Liu had created the world record with a mark of 468.9 on May 11, 2024, in Baku.
Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine won the silver and Yukun Liu of China claimed the gold medal.
Liu also came into the event having equalled the qualification round in the men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions - a feat he achieved on June 6, 2024.
Liu claimed the gold medal with an aggregate score of 463.6 whereas Serhiy clinched silver with a total score of 461.3.
Swapnil secured the bronze medal after accumulating a total of 451.4 points - India's first medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions at the Summer Olympic Games. Interestingly, Swapnil worked as a ticket collector before and is a huge fan of the former India and Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni.
He was a part of the Indian men's team that claimed gold in the 50m rifle 3 position final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. Swapnil was a part of the trio of Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and Akhil Sheoran that shot a world record score of 1769 to clinch gold from China.
Swapnil's bronze has helped India secure the 41st position on the medal tally. It is India's third bronze overall in shooting - a sport that has brought India a tremendous amount of success in Paris.
Manu Bhaker claimed the first bronze in the women's 10 m air pistol event and followed it up with another bronze with her partner Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air pistol mixed event.
