Nasrin Modak Siddiqui (Mumbai)

Swapnil Kusile

Back in Pune from the Paris Olympics 2024 (July 26-August 11), Swapnil Kusale, bronze medalist in the men’s 50 metre rifle three-position event, was given a red carpet hero’s welcome.

The 29-year-old gives credit for his exemplary achievement to supportive parents — Suresh Kusale, a Zilla Parishad school teacher, and Anita, a village sarpanch. They signed him up for the Maharashtra government’s Krida Prabodhini sports programme when he was 14. Following three years of tutelage under former national shooting champions Nana Deshmukh and Vishwajeet Shinde, he was selected for the national junior shooting squad.

In 2014, Swapnil won his first gold medal at the National Shooting Championship which motivated him to pursue this sharp shooters sport more seriously. Subsequently, consistent performance in domestic tournaments earned him a place in the national shooting team. In 2015, he joined Indian Railways serving as a traveling ticket examiner (TTE). Despite being obliged to serve long hours, he balanced work with a rigorous training schedule. Most important, the prize money he earned enabled him to purchase his first rifle for Rs.3 lakh. “The delays in acquiring my first gun slowed my progress,” recalls Swapnil.

In 2015, Swapnil won gold in the 50m rifle prone 3 event in the junior category of the Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait, marking the beginning of his international career. Since then, other shooting milestones include: a silver at the ISSF World Cup 2018 in Changwon, South Korea; silver at the ISSF World Cup 2022 in Baku which enabled his selection for the World Championships where he was a member of the bronze medal winning team. At the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023, he was a member of the gold medal winning team, and after rigorous trials in Delhi and Bhopal, Swapnil was officially inducted into the Indian Olympic shooting team in May (2024).

“Although my debut at the Paris Olympics was somewhat intimidating, it was a good learning experience because I got the opportunity to compete with world-class shooters. Now I am prepared to give a better account of myself in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028,” says Swapnil, who was recently promoted to the position of Officer on Special Duty, Sports Wing, Central Railways, Mumbai.

Aim high, Bro!