Swapnil Kusale stands up when it matters to clinch bronze in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions

Swapnil Kusale wins bronze medal at Paris Olympics 2024. (Pic Courtesy: X-@CricCrazyJohns)

There are few events in the Olympic programme more arduous than the 50m Rifle 3 Positions. Not only do you have to shoot a heavy rifle from three different stances – kneeling, prone and standing – but you also have to cope with the discomfort of the heavy protective equipment the shooters are forced to wear. It’s not uncommon for the athletes to be a sweaty mess by the end, with nerves playing only a part in that.

Last year in Hangzhou, India’s Swapnil Kusale dominated the event before one errant shot in the standing segment – a 7.6 – cost him a medal. But in Chateauroux, on the even bigger Olympic stage, Kusale got his medal, a bronze, by coming from behind. Placed sixth after the 15 kneeling shots, he moved up to fifth by the end of the 15 attempts from the prone position.

By the time the first 10 standing shots were complete, he had leapfrogged Norway’s Jon-Hermann Hegg, the long-time leader, and Czechia’s Jiri Privratsky to move into the bronze-medal position. Only China’s Liu Yukun, the world-record holder, and Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish, were ahead. But try as he might, Kusale couldn’t shift them.

The secret to India’s first medal in this event was Kusale’s amazing consistency. In the kneeling section, 13 of his 15 shots were 10.0 or better, with the worst a 9.6. He was even better in the prone position, with eight of the 15 shots being 10.5 or better, and the lowest being a 10.2. And in the standing position, usually the trickiest – and where many of the shooters fell away – eight of his 10 shots were 10.0 or better. A 9.1 on his 39th shot possibly cost silver or gold.

In the elimination shots, Kusale shot 10.5, 9.4, 9.9 and 10.0. That was 0.5 behind Kulish, who would go on to take the silver. But after the mishap in China, Kusale would have been pleased with how he held his nerve, even as others like Privratsky, the world No. 1, lost theirs.

Coached by Deepali Deshpande in Pune, Kusale is now 29, and this honour has been a long time coming. Recently, he laughingly compared himself to MS Dhoni, who had also once been a ticket collector with Indian Railways. Now, though, no one will refer to him in such terms. It’s Swapnil Kusale – Olympic medallist. All the heavy equipment will feel a lot lighter now with that bronze medal around his neck.

In exclusive arrangement with RevSportz