'His Performance Is Special...': PM Modi, Mamata Among Leaders Hailing Swapnil Kusale On Olympic Win

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday wished Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale who clinched the first ever Olympic bronze in the 50m rifle 3 positions event calling his performance “special.”

“Exceptional performance by Swapnil Kusale! Congrats to him for winning the Bronze medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the Paris Olympics 2024. His performance is special because he’s shown great resilience and skills. He is also the first Indian athlete to win a medal in this category. Every Indian is filled with happiness,” PM Modi said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also hailed Kusale’s victory and said that the country was proud of him for his Bronze victory.

“Proud of you, Swapnil Kusale, for winning the bronze medal in the 50 M Rifle 3 Positions Men’s Final event at the Paris Olympics 2024. You have set an example of triumph that will inspire millions to take on the challenges in the field of sports. Keep winning and continue to make the nation proud,” Shah wrote.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on  Thursday announced Rs 1 Crore for Olympian Swapnil Kusale after he won a Bronze medal in Paris.

BJP Leader K Annamalai also hailed Kusale’s Bronze win and said his journey was an inspiration to all. “From being a Ticket collector in the Indian Railways to winning a Medal in the Olympics, Swapnil Kusale’s journey inspires our country’s aspiring athletes,” Annamalai wrote in a tweet.

BJP MP from Bengaluru Tejasvi Surya also congratulated shooter Kusale for securing a Bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.

“India’s shooters continue to make us proud. Extending my congratulations to Swapnil Kusale for securing a bronze in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the Paris 2024,” he wrote.

“Apart from being India’s 3rd medal at the Paris Olympics, this is also the first-ever Olympic medal for an Indian in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions,” Surya added.

Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and President of the Maharashtra Olympic Association Ajit Pawar congratulated Maharashtra shooter Swapnil Kusale for winning a Bronze medal in the 50-meter rifle three-position event at the Paris Olympics 2024. Pawar commended Swapnil for increasing Maharashtra’s pride and injecting new vitality and energy into the state’s sports sector.

He also mentioned that the joy of receiving an individual medal by a Maharashtrian athlete after 72 years, since wrestler Khashaba Jadhav, is indescribable.

Kusale’s victory took the country’s overall Olympic medal tally to three at the ongoing Paris Games.

Kusale shot an aggregate of 451.4 in the eight-shooter final to finish third after being placed sixth at one stage.

The 28-year-old’s medal comes 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.

All three medals so far for India have come in shooting events. The last time a 50m rifle shooter made it to the Olympic finals was in 2012 London when Joydeep Karmakar finished fourth in the 50m rifle prone event, a discipline which has been discontinued at the Olympics.