"Pride of the state...": Maharashtra CM Shinde on Swapnil's bronze win in Paris Olympics

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 1 : Following Swapnil Kusale's landmark bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics 2024, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde congratulated him, calling the shooter the "pride" of the state.
Kusale won the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3P event at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Thursday. Kusale also became the first Indian shooter to win a medal in the men's 50m rifle 3P event.
Following his win, Shinde said while talking to the media, "I congratulate Swapnil Kusale on winning a bronze medal in the Paris Olympics. The Maharashtra government will provide all possible assistance to him. He is the pride of the state."
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After Swapnil's win, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also spoke to the shooter's father, Suresh on the phone.
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Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini also congratulated shooter Sarabjot Singh as well, who secured a bronze medal with Manu Bhaker in the 10 m air pistol mixed team event.
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With this medal, India has secured three medals in shooting at the Paris Olympics, with all the medals coming in shooting and are bronze. Before this, India's best performance in shooting came at the 2012 London Olympics, with Vijay Kumar getting a silver in the men's 25 m rapid fire pistol event and Gagan Narang getting a bronze in the men's 10 m air rifle event.
India's first-ever shooting medal was earned by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in the men's double trap shooting when he secured a silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was followed by Abhinav Bindra's historic gold medal in men's 10 m air rifle at the Beijing Olympics, which was also the country's first-ever individual gold medal in any sport.
Coming to the Paris Olympics, Earlier in the qualification round, Swapnil finished seventh in the qualification round of men's 50m 3P to qualify for the final at the ongoing Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Indian shooters Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Swapnil both appeared in the men's 50m 3P qualification round at the Paris 2024 Olympics. On his Olympic debut, Kusale finished seventh with a score of 590-38x. While Tomar ranked 11th with a total of 589-33x. Only the top eight shooters qualified for the final round, and Tomar failed to make his place in the final round.
People's Republic of China's Liu Yukun registered the qualification Olympic record with a total of 594-38x. Kusale was also the first Indian shooter to make a place in the men's 50m rifle 3P medal event at the Olympics.
Earlier at the multi-sport event, India shooter Manu Bhaker opened the nation's account with a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol event, becoming India's first-ever woman shooter to get an Olympic medal. After that, Sarabjot Singh and Man won the Bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team) event, which was India's first-ever medal in team shooting.