India At Paris Olympics 2024: How an MS Dhoni fan Swapni Kusale won the historic Bronze medal for India

Swapnil Kusale, this name has become immortal in the history of Indian sports. Swapnil created history by winning a bronze in the men's 50m Rifle 3P event at the Paris Olympics 2024, becoming the only Olympic medal winner in this category. Today the country is saluting Swapnil Kusale but do you know he is actually an MS Dhoni fan and has been a ticket collector in the past himself?

Also Read: India At Paris Olympics 2024 Day 6 (August 1) LIVE Updates | Swapnil Kusale wins Bronze in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions; Nikhat Zareen

Swapnil said that he gets inspiration from cricket legend MS Dhoni as both of them were railway ticket collectors in their early career. "I love how MS Dhoni stays calm under pressure. I always wanted to bring that to my game." 

Swapnil Kusale on Ms Dhoni 💙👏#Paris2024Olympics #ParisOlympics2024 #ParisOlympics #SwapnilKusale #msdhoni pic.twitter.com/Y4C2ZeAbv5

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) August 1, 2024

Made Olympic debut after 12 years

Kusale, who won the third medal for the country, has been participating in international competitions since 2012, but he had to wait for 12 more years to make his debut at the Olympics. It is very important to be calm and patient for shooting, and these qualities are also found in abundance in MS Dhoni. So it's no surprise that Kusale feels connected to Dhoni's life story.

'I admire Dhoni for the person that he is'

"I don't follow anyone specific in the shooting world. Outside of that, I admire Dhoni for the person that he is. My sport requires me to be as calm and patient as he is on the field. I also relate to his story as I am a ticket collector like he was," Kusale after winning the bronze at the men's 50m Rifle 3P event. 

From Railway Ticket Collector to Global Pride: Swapnil Kusale's Journey.



Swapnil Kusale's story is similar to MS Dhoni's. 🤩💙🇮🇳#Msdhoni #SwapnilKusale #Paris2024 #OlympicGames #ParisOlympics2024 pic.twitter.com/lItrDUNsHr

— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) August 1, 2024

Kusale, who is 'cool' like Dhoni, watched the film 'MS Dhoni The Untold Story' made on the World Cup-winning cricket captain several times.

Kusale's performance towards bronze

Swapnil Kusale made it to the finals with a total score of 590. He scored 198 in kneeling, 197 in prone and 195 in standing. On Thursday too, Kusale lived up to millions of expectations of India and won a medal for the country.

At one point in the finals, Kusale had slipped to sixth place. But instead of disintegrating under pressure, the Indian shooter raised his game. He slowly started rising in the tally. For some time, Swapnil was seen stuck at number five. After this, he came at number four and then reached number three.

Kusale won the bronze with 451.4 points. China's Liu Yukun won gold with 463.6 points. Ukraine's shooter Serhiy Kulish (461.3), who was facing the horrors of war, won the silver medal.

Also Read: All Indian shooters to win Olympic medal

First medal in shooting came in 2004

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the first medal in shooting for India in the Olympics in 2004. He won this medal in the Athens Olympics. However, Indian shooters have compensated for the failure of the last few years by winning 3 medals in the Paris Olympics. Now if one gold comes then it will be icing on the cake.