Swapnil Kusale created history by winning the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Paris Olympics 2024. For the first time, an Indian shooter won a medal in the 50m rifle 3 position in the history of the Olympics. As a result, Kusale won the third medal for India in shooting. Interestingly, India has won three medals so far in the Olympics and all of them have come in shooting.
Parallels Can Be Drawn From Kusale’s Career
Kusale’s career story is similar to the journey of the former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Like Dhoni, Kusale also works as a ticket collector in the Central Railway. The shooter who won a medal in his first Olympics, put in the hard yards while working as a ticket collector in the Pune Divison.
Swapnil’s Family Background
Kolhapur district in Maharashtra is mostly associated with Football as every village has at least one football player. But, the 29-year-old Swapnil Suresh Kusale from Kambalwadi was an exception to the norm. Swapnil’s father works as a principal in a Zilla Parishad School while his mother is the Sarpanch of the village and belongs to the Warkari community. Also, his younger brother Suraj works as a sports teacher.
There was a pious environment in his family as his mother comes from the Varkari community. His schooling education from first to fourth was done in Zilla Parishad School in Kambalwadi while his education from the fifth to seventh grade was at Bhogavati Public School. He formed an interest in sports. He got training in Sangldi at Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.
Bunked 12th Exam To Watch Abhinav Bindra
As Swanil developed a fondness for shooting, he went to Nashik for training in shooting. He used to attend school and then practice the sport in the evening. Interestingly, just to see Abhinav Bindra fetching a gold in Beijing in 2008, he bunked the 12th class exams.
Works in Central Railway: Swapneel is working in Central Railway since 2015. In an interview, he said, "The experience so far has been great. I love shooting. I am very happy that I have been able to do it for so long. In shooting, I don't follow any particular player. But in other sports, Dhoni is my favourite. I want to stay calm in my game. It is necessary. He was also always calm on the field. He was also TC at one time," said Swapnil in an interview
