Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale won the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Paris 2024 Olympic shooting competition.
This was India's first Olympic shooting medal in 50m 3P and second in rifle shooting after Abhinav Bindra's gold medal in the men's 10m air rifle at Beijing 2008.
Shooting at the National Shooting Centre in Châteauroux, Kusale was sixth with 153.3 after 15 shots.
However, shooting consistently in three series in prone position and two series in standing, the 28-year-old Indian shooter finished third at the end of Stage 1, after which the bottom two shooters were eliminated.
Then in Stage 2, with an elimination after every single shot, Kusale shot 153.3 with his next three shots. He shot 10.5, 9.4 and 9.9 to retain his top three position and secure a medal for India.
However, a score of 10.0 in the next shot was not enough to keep him in contention for the gold medal.
World record holder in the event Liu Yukun of the People's Republic of China won the gold with 463.6 points, while Ukraine's Serhiy Kulish (461.3) won his second Olympic silver medal in the event, adding to his first silver from Rio 2016. Kusale scored 451.4 points.
Fellow Indian shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar missed the cut after finishing eighth.
India have so far won three medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics, all of which have come in shooting.
Before Kusale, Manu Bhaker won a bronze medal in the women's 10m air pistol individual event, followed by another medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh.
In other events of the day, India's Anjum Moudgil and Shift Kaur Samra failed to reach the final of the women's 50m rifle 3P event.
