Paris Olympis 2024: Swapnil Kusale becomes fifth Indian shooter to reach final round

Swapnil Kusale is competing at the summer games for the first time.

Swapnil Kusale handled the trials and tribulations of a gruelling 50m Rifle 3 Positions (3P) Olympic qualification round with admirable composure, shooting a top-drawer 590 over 20-shots each in the Kneeling, Prone and Standing positions, to take seventh place in the elite 44-man field and give India her fifth shot at a shooting medal in the Paris Olympics 2024.

Kusale is the fifth Indian shooter to make the finals in an event of Paris Olympics 2024. He has joined the likes of Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Ramita Jindal and Arjun Babuta.

Manu Bhaker has helped convert two of those shots into bronze, first in the women’s 10m air pistol and thereafter, while partnering Sarabjot Singh in the mixed team air pistol. Those are still India’s only two medals at the on-going Paris Olympics 2024.

While Swapnil Kusale, a seasoned 3P shooter, made his first Olympic final in his debut Olympics, two-time Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar missed out narrowly, his score of 589 giving him 11th spot in the pecking order, as Czechia’s Jiri Privratsky took the eighth and final qualifying spot at 590.

Also Read: Paris Olympics 2024: Swapnil Kusale reaches men’s 50m rifle 3 position finals, Aishwary Tomar misses out

China’s Liu Yukun topped the field with a 594. In the other shooting event of the day, Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh shot identical scores of 113 in the women’s Trap to garner 22nd and 23rd spots respectively.

On Thursday day six of Paris Olympics 2024 is 3 Positions day as the Swapnil Kusale’s men’s 50m 3 Positions final precedes the women’s 50m 3 Positions qualification round featuring Anjum Moudgil and Sift kaur Samra in action for India.

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