Swapnil Kusale Wins Bronze for Rifle Shooting at the 2024 Olympics

Indian rifle shooter Swapnil Kusale completes the 50-metre rifle in three positions. He bagged the bronze medal with a score of 451.4 at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the men’s 50-metre rifle three-position event.

Born 6 August in 1995, Swapnil has made a mark in history by becoming the first Indian shooter to win a medal in the 50m Rifle three-position event at the Olympics. The final was held at the National Shooting Center in Châteauroux on 1 August 2024.

The three-position Rifle shooting event consists of shooters shooting in three positions: kneeling, prone, and standing. Shooters shoot three series of five shots in the kneeling and prone positions and three series of five shots each in the kneeling and prone positions. Elimination begins after 40 shots in the standing position during the second series, and two shooters with the lowest scores will be eliminated. From there onwards, each subsequent shot serves as an elimination shot until the winner is announced.

Y.K. Liu from China earned the gold medal with a score of 463.6 points, and S. Kulish from Ukraine bagged the silver medal with 461.3 points. Swapnil Kusale gave an outstanding performance, made India proud, and highlighted his expertise as a rifle shooter, becoming a renowned rifle shooter at a global level. Swapnil finished 7th in the qualifying round with a total score of 590 points, including 38 inner 10s (Xs) from three positions.

Background of Swapnil Kusale

Swapnil is from Kambalwadi village in Kolhapur district. His journey in sports began in 2009 when his father enrolled him in Maharashtra’s government’s Krida Prabhodini sports programme. After one year of intense training, he chose shooting as a sport. In 2015, he became a traveling ticket collector at Indian railways in Pune, which helped him to make his first rifle purchase.  After winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics, Swapnil has been promoted from Travelling Ticket examiner (TTE) to Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Sports Cell in Mumbai. The railway department has honoured his achievement by giving him a double promotion at work.

Achievements over the years

At the 2015 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait, Swapnil won a gold medal in the 50m rifle prone 3 junior category. In the same year, he won the 59th National Shooting Championship conducted in Tughlakabad in a 50m rifle prone event.
In 2017, he won gold again in 50m rifle three postion in the 61st National Championship in Thiruvananthapuram.
Then in October 2022, he secured 4th place at the 2022 ISSE World Shooting Championships in Cairo, bagging an Olympic quota berth for India in the men’s 50-metre rifle 3 position event.
In May 2024, he was selected for the Indian Olympic team in the 50m rifle three-position event after the trials in Delhi and Bhopal.

Having competed in international events for the last 12 years, the 28 year old from Maharashtra finally made his Olympics debut this year. And what a debut it’s been!