Swapnil Kusale: The railway ticket collector who won bronze at Paris Olympics 2024

India’s Paris Olympics 2024 medal tally was stretched to three after Swapnil Kusale won a record-breaking bronze on Thursday in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. Kusale won the bronze with a total score of 451.4 while world record holder from China, Yukun Liu, scored 463.6 to clinch gold and Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish (461.3) grabbed silver.

The first two medals for India at the Paris Olympics 2024 had also come in shooting and this is the first time India have won three medals in a single sport at a single edition of the Games.

Manu Bhaker won India’s first medal (bronze) at the Paris Olympics in the 10m air pistol event before winning another bronze with Sarabjot singh in the air pistol mixed team event.

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Kusale’s journey to the Olympic bronze medal has been pretty interesting and has similarities with the success story of former Indian men’s cricket team captain MS Dhoni.

Who is Swapnil Kusale?

Kusale was born into a family with an agricultural background on 6 August 1995 in Pune, Maharashtra. At the age of 14, his father enrolled him in Maharashtra’s government programme dedicated to sports ‘Krida Prabodhini’, where he ended up choosing shooting after undergoing one year of hardcore physical training. Four years later, he would get a sponsor in Lakshya Sports.

Kusale made his first big impact in the sport at a global level when, at the age of 20, he won gold in 50m rifle prone 3 event in the 2015 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait, where he competed in the junior category.

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He would later go on to win the 59th National Shooting Championship in Delhi in the 50m rifle prone event ahead of established names such as Gagan Narang, who had won silver in the 2012 London Olympics, and Chail Singh. He would repeat the performance in the 61st Nationals in Thiruvananthapuram, this time winning gold in 50m rifle 3 position.

Absolutely thrilled for Swapnil’s epic bronze medal win in shooting at the Paris Olympics! 🥉 Your hard work, grit, and passion have truly paid off. Competing at the highest level and coming away with a medal in shooting is a testament to your dedication and talent. You’ve made… pic.twitter.com/7jxchc5WCX

— Abhinav A. Bindra OLY (@Abhinav_Bindra) August 1, 2024

Kusale, who works as a railway ticket collector, is also a big MS Dhoni fan as the former India captain also started his journey in the same style.

“I admire Dhoni for the person that he is. My sport requires me to be as calm and patient as he is on the field. I also relate to his story as I am a ticket collector like he was,” he told PTI in an interview.

How the government has funded him?

Kusale, who trains at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune, has been receiving the Sports Ministry’s support in his journey to the Paris Olympics. Not only is he a Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete, but he also receives assistance in the procurement of ammunition, he also has been assigned a personal coach as far as his domestic training is concerned.

The shooter also received financial assistance of Rs 17.58 lakh as part of TOPS, and a sum of Rs 1,42,69,647 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) scheme.

What are Swapnil Kusale’s achievements?

— World Championship, Cairo (2022) - finished 4th winning Olympics 2024 quota place for India.

— Asian Games 2022 - Gold in Team event. World Cup, Baku (2023) - Gold medal in the mixed team event and two silver medals in individual & team events.

— World Championship, Cairo (2022) - Bronze medal in team event.

— World Cup, New Delhi (2021) - Gold medal in team event.