"Had opportunity to win medal for the country": Swapnil Kusale
Aug 08, 2024
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], August 8 : Olympic bronze medalist Swapnil Kusale reached Pune on Thursday and said he feels proud to have been born in a state associated with Chhatrapati Shivaji and he had an opportunity to win a medal for the country in Paris Olympics.
Kusale is the first Indian shooter to win a medal in the men's 50m rifle 3P event in the Olympics.
"I feel great. I feel proud to have been born in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maharashtra. After several years, I received the opportunity to win a medal for my country at such a large competition...," Swapnil Kusale told ANI.
Earlier in the day, Swapnil held a roadshow in Pune to celebrate his medal win at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Kusale clinched the bronze medal for India in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men's Final after finishing in third place with an aggregate of 451.4. He secured India's 3rd medal in shooting overall.
Bhaker opened India's medal tally in the ongoing Olympics after she secured third place in the women's individual 10m Air pistol event, becoming the first-ever woman shooter to win an Olympic medal for India. Following that, Sarabjot Singh and Bhaker won the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event, which was India's first-ever shooting team medal.
She had a shot at returning with three medals from Paris. But in her final event, she narrowly missed out on the historic grand treble and finished fourth in the women's 25m pistol shooting event.