Swapnil Kusale from India has secured a spot in the final medal round of the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Competing on July 31, Swapnil finished in 7th place, while his compatriot Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar ended in 11th position.
Swapnil demonstrated remarkable consistency, scoring 198 points in the Kneeling round, 197 in the Prone round, and 195 in the Standing round, accumulating a total of 590 points with 38 inner 10s.
This achievement marks Swapnil as the 5th Indian shooter to advance to a final in the Paris Olympics 2024, following Manu Bhaker, Arjun Babuta, Sarabjot Singh, and Ramita Jindal. Yukun Liu of China topped the qualification round, setting a new Olympic qualification record with 594 points and 38 inner 10s.
Swapnil began the kneeling round strongly, scoring three consecutive 10s. Although a 9 interrupted his streak, he finished the series with six more straight 10s. He scored 99 in the second series, placing him 5th after the kneeling round.
Aishwary, however, struggled in the first series, scoring 98 points with a couple of 9s. He improved slightly in the second series with 99 points but remained outside the top 10 due to stiff competition.
In the Prone round, Aishwary excelled, starting with a perfect 100 and nearly repeating it in the second series, scoring a 9 on the 8th shot. Swapnil had two 9s in his first series and finished the second with 99 points, placing him 10th going into the Standing round. Aishwary, initially in 6th, slipped to 8th on inner 10s.
During the Standing round, Aishwary began with a 10 but soon dropped out of the top 8 after hitting two 9s. Swapnil, hitting a 9 initially, climbed into 8th place with seven consecutive 10s. Aishwary struggled further, hitting a third consecutive 9.
Swapnil briefly fell out of the top 8 with a 9 in his final series, scoring 98 points. However, he rebounded in the second series, hitting four 10s and moving into the top 5. A series of three 9s, however, forced him out of the top 10, though he finished with three 10s in his final series. Aishwary concluded his final series with 193 points, dependent on other results to advance.
Ultimately, Swapnil did enough to secure his place in the final, scheduled to take place on August 1.
