India's shooting team achieved another milestone at the Paris Olympics 2024 with Swapnil Kusale securing a bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle three positions event. Kusale’s victory marks the first time an Indian has won a medal in this particular shooting discipline.

Kusale, 28, delivered a remarkable performance, finishing third with a total score of 451.4. His scores were 51.6 in the kneeling position, 51.9 in prone, and 50.4 in standing. He also excelled in the elimination rounds, defeating Czechia's Privratsky Jiri.

This marks Kusale’s first Olympic Games, where he initially placed seventh with a score of 590-38x. Aishwary Singh Tomar, another Indian shooter, finished 11th with a score of 589-33x. Only the top eight shooters advanced to the final round, thus leaving Tomar out of contention.

India has now won three medals in shooting at this Olympics. The last time an Indian shooter advanced to the Olympic finals in the 50m rifle event was Joydeep Karmakar at the 2012 London Games, where he finished fourth in the discontinued 50m rifle prone event.

Inspired by cricket icon MS Dhoni, Kusale’s journey is particularly notable as he began his career as a ticket collector before achieving Olympic success.

Recapping Manu Bhaker’s Triumph

Earlier at the Games, Manu Bhaker earned a bronze medal in the women’s individual 10m Air Pistol event. In a mixed team event, Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh defeated South Korea’s Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin with a score of 16-10 in the Bronze Medal play-off, bringing India’s medal count to two.

Bhaker and Singh’s consistent shooting performance, with regular 10s, helped them secure a total of 580-20x points and clinch third place. Bhaker is now preparing for the 25m Pistol event, aiming for her third Olympic medal.

Bhaker made history as the first Indian woman to win an Olympic shooting medal, earning a bronze with a score of 221.7 in the 10 Metre Women’s Air Pistol event. This achievement was a significant comeback for Bhaker after a malfunction during the Tokyo Olympics. She is also the first Indian woman in two decades to reach an Olympic shooting final, following Suma Shirur’s 2004 accomplishment.

In the same event, South Korea's Ye Jin won the gold with a record-breaking score of 243.2 points, while Kim Yeji took silver with 241.3 points.

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