Swapnil Kusale honoured with a cheque of Rs. 2 crore by Maharashtra government

Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis, Swapnil Kusale, Eknath Shinde (Pic: X/@AjitPawarSpeaks)

Ace Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale was on Monday honoured with a cheque of Rs. 2 crore by the Maharashtra government.

Swapnil Kusale claimed a bronze medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions event of the concluded Paris Olympics 2024.

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar shared a post on "X" which read, "Swapnil Kusale won bronze medal in 50m rifle three position category in Paris Olympics. On this occasion, Abhinandanpar Swapnil was honored with a check of Rs 2 crore on behalf of the state government. Wishes were also given for further success." Taking to X:

Kusale shot an aggregate of 451.4 in the eight-shooter final to finish third after being placed sixth at one stage. It took the country's overall tally to three, all bronze in shooting, at the Paris Games.

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His medal came following the stunning performance of Manu Bhaker, who clinched the women's 10m air pistol and mixed team 10m air pistol bronze alongside Sarabjot Singh.

Kusale, whose father and brother are teachers in a district school and his mother the sarpanch of Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra, finished behind China's Yukun Liu (463.6) and Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish (461.3).

The last time a 50m rifle shooter made it to the Olympic finals was in 2012 London when Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in 50m rifle prone event, which has been discontinued at the Olympics.

He was in the fourth place after the first-standing series. Considered a high-scoring round, Kusale's first shot of the final in kneeling was a lowly 9.6, but he made an excellent recovery after that.

A 10.6 and 10.3 saw Kusale jump momentarily into second place. But a 9.1 and a 10.1 in his next attempts pushed him back to fourth.

However, a 10.3 propelled him to third place and he maintained that position to win a Paris Olympics 2024 medal.