Swapnil Kusale at Paris Olympics 2024 Highlights & Score: Swapnil Kusale wins Bronze! India's 3rd medal in shooting at the Paris Olympics.

Swapnil Kusale at Paris Olympics 2024 Highlights: Swapnil Kusale finishes on the podium. He wins the bronze medal in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions. Follow Sportskeeda for live updates on Swapnil Kusale at the Paris Olympics 2024

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Swapnil Kusale wins the bronze medal in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, India won a total of 3 medals. Back then, it was India's highest return ever in the history of the modern Olympics. Today, India has 3 medals from one discipline and we still have more than a week of Paris Olympics remaining. Surely, we have come a long way.

Swapnil Kusale picked up shooting over a decade ago. His journey has been long and filled with anecdotes of sacrifice and persistence. Today, all of it has come to fruition.

His performance in the finals, perhaps, embodies his voyage. The start wasn't great. His first shot was a 9.6. But Swapnil kept on battling. Eventually, his persistence paid off and he finished on the podium. This is India's first medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions event.

It is time for Swapnil Kusale to bask in glory under the Parisian sun.

Medals Ceremony - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Rifle

The 3 medallists pose for a victorious selfie. Swapnil Kusale, once again, proudly holds up the bronze medal and wears a huge, beaming grin on his face. The pride reflects in his eyes.

Medals Ceremony - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Rifle

The 3 medallist pose for a photograph and finally, we see Kusale breaking into a smile as he holds up the medal in his hand.

Medals Ceremony - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Rifle

The Indian tricolour goes up with the flags of China and Ukraine on the side. China's national anthem reverberates around the Chateauroux Shooting Range.

Medals Ceremony - 50m Rifle 3 Positions Rifle

Swapnil climbs on to the podium and bends forward to don the medal around his neck. He looks as calm as he did through the event.

"Swapnil Kusale has broken a glass ceiling" - Gagan Narang

Indian contingent's Chef de Mission and Olympic Medalist Gagan Narang says, "It is an emotional moment for me personally. I used to play in the same event initially. Today, Swapnil Kusale has broken a glass ceiling." He breaks into tears as he says this. These are tears of pride and happiness. "I am proud of Swapnil", Narang adds.

Medals ceremony coming up

The medals ceremony would be coming up in a few moments from now. Stay tuned. We will try to paint vivid pictures of the joyful scenes as they unfold at the Chateauroux Shooting Range.

"My heart is still pounding" - Swapnil Kusale

"I feel really good. My heart is still pounding. I am very happy that I have won the bronze medal for the country. I was focusing on my breath. I was trying to do what I have done for years." says Swapnil Kusale after winning the medal.

Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions - Final Standings.

GOLD - Liu Yukun (China) - 463.6
SILVER - Serhiy Kulish (Ukraine) - 461.3
BRONZE - Swapnil Kusale (India) - 451.4

4. J Privratsky (Czechia) - 440.7
5. JH Hegg (Norway) - 430.2
6. Lucas Kryzs (France) - 418.9
7. T Bartnik (Poland) - 408.8
8. L Kovacevic (Servia) - 407.4

China's Liu wins gold. Ukraine's Kulish takes silver.

Liu Yukun notches up a total score of 463.6. Kulish is second with a total score of 461.3.

Swapnil Kusale wins a bronze medal.

He wins a bronze. He hits a 10.0 with his final shot and ends with a total score of 451.4. Ukraine's Kulish is second with 451.9. China's Liu is first with 453.7

MEDAL CONFIRMED!!!

Swapnil is bringing a medal home! The colour is yet to be decided. He hit 9.9 and has a score of 441.4. Czechia's Jiri Privratsky is eliminated with a score of 440.7.

Swapnil hits 9.4. Norway's Hegg eliminated. 4 shooters remain.

Swapnil is one shot away from the medal. Can he survive this shot?

Swapnil hits 10.5. France's Kyrzs eliminated.

The road ends for the home lad. Now only 5 shooters remain.

Serbia's Kovacevic and Poland's Bartnik eliminated. 6 shooters remain

Serbia's Lazar Kovacevic and Poland's Bartnik is eliminated. Now, a shooter would be eliminated after every shot.

Rankings after the Standing Position, before elimination:

1. S Kulish (Ukraine) - 412.6
2. Y Liu (China) - 412.5
3. S Kusale (India) - 411.6
4. JH Hegg (Norway) - 410.5
5. J Privratsky (Czechia) - 409.5
6. LLBD Kryzs (France) - 409.0
7. T Bartnik (Poland) - 408.8
8. L Kovacevic (Servia) - 407.4

Swapnil Kusale in top 3

Kusale scores 10.6, 10.3, 9.1, 10.1 and 10.3. After 40 shots, his total score is 411.6. He is ranked 3rd. Ukraine's Kulish at the apex spot with a total of 412.6. Number two is China's Liu Yukun with 412.5.

Kusale moves to number 4!!

Swapnil Kusale hits 9.5, 10.7, 10.3, 10.6 and 10.0. The first shot was ordinary but he came back strong. Total score - 361.2, Rank - 4. The difference between him and Ukraine's Kulish, who is ranked 3rd, is 0.1.

Last 10 shots before elimination begins

The shooters would now take 10 shots in the standing position, before the bottom ranked players start getting eliminated.

On to the standing position now.

Kusale did not hit the ground running. Though, he has expectedly yielded far better returns in the prone position round. The first 15 shots (kneeling position) fetched him 153.1 points, while the 15 shots of prone position yielded 157.0 points for the Indian shooter. Now, we go to the standing position. All shooters are preparing themselves for it.

Rankings after the Prone Position:

1. JH Hegg (Norway) - 312.1
2. Y Liu (China) - 311.5
3. S Kulish (Ukraine) - 311.1
4. J Privratsky (Czechia) - 311.0
5. S Kusale (India) - 310.1
6. T Bartnik (Poland) - 308.8
6. LBD Kryzs (France) - 308.8
8. L Kovacevic (Serbia) - 307.9

Swapnil Kusale at no.5 after the prone position round.

Kusale yields consistent returns of 10.5, 10.4, 10.4, 10.2 and 10.4. He scores 51.9 in this series. Total score 310.1. Rank - 5.

Norway's Hegg still in the lead. China's Yukun is biting at his heels though.

Norway's Jon-Hermann continues to lead with a total score of 259.6. China's Liu Yukun is second with 259.2

Swapnil Kusale continues to do better

Swapnil Kusale starts the next series with 10.8. Remember, the highest you can score with a single shot is 10.9. He follows it up with 10.2, 10.5, 10.4 and 10.3. Total score - 258.2, Rank - 5

ON THE MONEY!!!!!

Swapnil Kusale consistently rakes up good returns in this series. He scores 10.5, 10.6, 10.5, 10.6 and 10.5. Cumulative score in this series - 52.7. Total score - 206.0. Rank - 5

The next series begins

All the shooters are lying on their stomachs and ready to take their shots.

On to the prone position now

The shooters now get a little time to prepare for the prone position shots. Swapnil Kusale would need to pull up his socks. He is 0.6 points behind Ukraine's Kulish, who is at number 3. The difference between Kusale and Norway's Hegg, who is at the pole position, is 2 points.

Hegg continues to lead.

We are through with the kneeling round. Norway's Hegg is leading with a score of 155.3, China's Liu at the second spot with 154.0 and Ukraine's Kulish at the third position with a score of 153.9.

A better third series!

Swapnil Kusale delivers a better performance in the third series. He rakes up 10.5, 10.4, 10.3, 10.2 and 10.2. The cumulative score is 51.6. He is still at number 6 on the ranking chart with a total score of 153.3!

Norwegian shooter in the lead

Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway leads the charts with a total score of 103.7

Ordinary returns continue

10.1, 9.9, 10.3, 10.5 and 10.1 in the next 5 shots for Kusale. He picks up 50.9 points in the second series of 5 shots. He is currently ranked 6th and has a total score of 101.7

French shooter in the lead

After first 5 shots, Lucas Kryzs is leading the charts with a total score of 52.3

Not a great start!

Swapnil Kusale starts with a shot of 9.6. Though, he follows it up with a 10.4, 10.3, 10.5 and a 10.6. But a poor first shot could come back to bite him. He is currently ranked 6th with a total score of 50.8

The first stage begins

The shooters are in a kneeling position and are ready to take their shots.

Swapnil Kusale is positioned at firing point "B". The action is about to begin.

Biggest Threat

At this level, no shooter can be underestimated. However, China's Liu Yukun is expected to be the biggest obstacle in Swapnil Kusale's path. Liu won gold medals at the 2024 World Cup in Baku as well as the 2023 World Cup in Rio de Janerio. At Baku, he also made a world record by notching up a total score of 468.9

A quick reminder of the rules

All 8 shooters would aim 40 shots at the target in stage 1. The first 15 would be in kneeling position. The next 15 in prone position - that is lying on your stomach - and the final 10 shots in a standing position. The score of each shot is added to determine the total score. X denotes the number of times a shooter hits the innermost circle, which lies inside the 10-point circle. In case of a tied score, the shooter with more number of Xs is considered the winner. After the first 40 shots, eliminations would begin.

In case you missed it, this is how things went in the qualifying round:-

Paris Olympics 2024 Shooting: Swapnil Kusale qualifies for the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions final; Aishwary Pratap misses out by just 2 points

The finals is not expected to be any easier either. In this sport of fine margins, every shot, every milimeter matters. Kusale has put in years of hard work to reach here. Will today be the day when he gets to bask in glory under the Parisian sun? We will find out together.

Kusale qualified for the Men's Rifle 3 Position finals by finishing 7th among 44 shooters in the qualifying round. It was a tight contest. 3 shooters finished on 590 - the same score as Kusale. However, Kusale qualified by the virtue of hitting the centre more often. His roommate, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar missed out with a score of 589.

Kusale picked up shooting more than a decade ago. It has been a long journey, filled with several anecdotes of sacrifices and persistence. Today, could be the day when it all comes to fruition.

After Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh's triumph, India dreams of another medal in shooting. Carrying the hopes on day 6 is Swapnil Kusale.