Swapnil Kusale Takes Home The Arjuna Award 2024
Swapnil Kusale is set to receive the Arjuna Award which will be given by the President of India, Sri Droupadi Murmu on January 17th, 2025. A Bit More About The Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is taken as an award for extraordinary performances by sportspersons in international events. Kusale is finally being awarded in the manner that all his struggle throughout his career will come to an end with this big performance at Paris Olympics 2024. Swapnil Kusale Takes The Indian Flag High At Paris 2024 All of it would eventually lead to Swapnil Kusale leaving with the Bronze in the Men’s 50m 3-Position Shooting Event of the 2024 Paris Olympics. That would mean not only he would find his name etched in the pages of Olympic history but also, on that day, India would add its third medal of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The score in the final was 451.4. This surely speaks to Swapnil Kusale’s skills and composure in the heat of the moment, as he claimed his first-ever Olympic medal on debut. He is as poised under extreme competition that had almost bettered the colour of his medal in an extremely competitive field. A pretty special win by Swapnil Kusale in Paris comes at the end of long years of toil and commitment which places him firmly in the rank of shooting stars of India. Swapnil Kusale’s Rise To The Shooting Stardom Swapnil Kusale’s sports career began at the age of 19 years. Kusale had enrolled in the Maharashtra-based sports development program Krida Prabhodini to begin training there way back in 2009. The following year Swapnil Kushale’s had made up his mind that he will focus on the shooting sport- and it is going to make his life while being one of the most promising shooters for India. Swapnil Kusale Making A Mark The milestones mark Swapnil Kusale’s ascendancy in the shooting world. In 2015, he bagged a gold medal in the junior category of the 50m rifle prone event during the Asian Shooting Championships held in Kuwait. He impressed at national events, winning gold at both the 59th and the 61st National Shooting Championships in the 50m rifle events. In 2022, Swapnil Kusale had won himself an Olympic quota for India by securing fourth position at the World Championship in Cairo, Egypt, in the men’s 50m rifle 3-position. This was thus when he sealed his seat to Paris 2024, which he finally wanted to stamp his presence there. Swapnil Kusale’s Journey To The Top Swapnil Kusale did not find an easy way to the top. He suffered a gigantic health blow in 2023 when he acquired a chronic tonsil problem which caused a great deal of ache and fever, but also weakened him at the same time. Through some doctors, it was finally diagnosed with lactose intolerance. Kusale was not going to let this one obstacle come between him, and he fought against that painful physical scenario, which kept going to training till the end so that he eventually won the trials for the Olympic games of 2024. His stature in adversity makes his legacy one of the most determined athletes India has ever seen. Swapnil Kusale’s Story of Inspiration An otherwise illustrious career now has an enhanced light through parallels drawn with that other cricketing superstar, MS Dhoni. His life is perhaps the most relevant example of somebody who juggled a high-paying job with high-octane sports. Kusale has been the ticket collector on Central Railways since 2015. Indeed, it finds a parallel when one considers the life history of MS. Dhoni, who as a cricketer was himself a professional during his time of playing. Similarity Between MS Dhoni And Swapnil Kusale Both MS Dhoni and Swapnil Kusale are known to be very calm and composed under pressure, which has been a major reason for their success. Dhoni has had a great influence on Swapnil Kusale, as the story of the legendary cricketer who rose from the grassroots and excelled under pressure has been a big time source of inspiration for the shooter. Looking Ahead The country is celebrating him as a commitment and talent show as Swapnil Kusale is set to receive the Arjuna Award. This is going to be the most memorable episode in Indian sports and is quite apt for an excellent contribution of his to the world of shooting in getting the Arjuna Award. Still looking for more, this is just the start for Swapnil Kusale, who is going to be eyed by India in years ahead as a sure prospect for glory on the international stage, for he has already attained the pinnacle and the Arjuna Award marks just one milestone in his magnificent career. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Paris 2024 Medallists Return To National Shooting Championships
India’s Paris Olympics 2024 medallists are expected to return to competitive shooting at the Senior National Shooting Championships, which will commence on Wednesday, December 11, 2024. Olympic Medalists Return To Action At National Shooting Championships The Senior National Shooting Championships will feature big names such as Swapnil Kusale, who will be competing in the rifle events and Sarabjot Singh, who will compete in the pistol events. However, the star of India’s Paris 2024 campaign, Manu Bhaker, will only compete in the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) section, meaning that her scores will not be taken into account in the competition. Will Manu Bhaker Participate At National Shooting Championships? Manu Bhaker was a double medallist at the Paris Olympics 2024. She has sought to be considered for the MQS section while she continues to recover and polish her skills. After a long break following her success at Paris 2024, she traveled with her personal coach, Jaspal Rana to Lugano, Switzerland, to focus on improving the technical aspects of her weapon at the Morini factory. Currently, Bhaker has been training at Delhi’s Karni Singh Shooting Range however she prefers to take more time before fully re-engaging in high-level competition. Manu, the other two Olympic medallists—Kusale and Singh—are returning from a break in training by skipping the October World Cup. Selection Trials And National Games After selection trials, the National Games are scheduled in Uttarakhand starting from January 28,2025 to February 14, 2025. Even the NRAI has not stated its official selection policy in place yet, though debate is going on about alterations. Among such, one important proposal on table includes the right to practice the national campers with personal coaches outside the national camps, which is similar to that adopted by the NRAI a few years back at Paris Olympics where shooters ready to head for the Games can meet their personal coaches who remain in touch with national coaches. NRAI Policy Discussions And Support Elite Shooters With domestic competition still growing, another proposal in discussion is to help shooters who have fallen out of the national team’s ecosystem. It is challenging for many shooters to re-enter the national camp once they are out for some time. This new policy may help in technical support and coaching for such talents. Participation At Senior National Shooting Championships A record 13,522 shooters have enrolled for the national championships, which will be participated in rifle events, with the maximum number of entries (7,013). Rifle competitions will be held from December 15-31 at the MP State Shooting Academy in Bhopal. Pistol competitions will be conducted at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi. Also, 837 shotgun shooters will be taking part in skeet, trap, and double trap competitions with defending champions Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Ganemat Sekhon eyeing title retention in men’s and women’s skeet. Which athlete are you looking forward to perform at the National Shooting Championships? The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Paris 2024: A Triple Treat For India As Kusale Bags Bronze
Swapnil Kusale bagged a bronze in the men’s rifle 50m 3 position final—during the Paris Olympics 2024 at the Chateauroux Shooting Range on Thursday. As It Happened The 28-year-old marksman tallied 451.4 en route to the finish of four rounds of the elimination stage. Yukun Liu of China took the gold while Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine finished with the silver medal. Through most of the kneeling position series, he floated around in sixth place. A strong first two series in the prone position bumped him up to fourth place. Kusale had already claimed third position with a good gap, posting 51.4 and 50.4 in his two series at the standing rounds to give him a comfortable cushion going into the elimination round as the shots of 9.4 and 9.9 in the second and third shots were good enough for third place. Still, the gap to Kulish in second was too great to close from fourth spot as he had to settle for bronze. Read about Swapnil Kusale’s journey to the Paris Olympics 2024 here. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
Swapnil Kusale: The Calm Marksman Inspired by MS Dhoni
Hailing from Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra, Swapnil Kusale started competing at the international level back in 2012 and finally made his Olympic debut at the Paris Olympics 2024. The 29-year-old shooter hopes to emulate another cricket icon, M S Dhoni, who happened to be a former railway ticket collector. Inspired by Dhoni Kusale, working with Central Railways since 2015, has always been an admirer of former India captain Dhoni because of his calmness and patience, which are two very important virtues for cricket and shooting alike. “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 shared. One could see his admiration for Dhoni’s life story as he has watched the biopic of the World Cup-winning cricketer numerous times. Family Support and Local Roots Kusale draws strength from more than just his admiration for Dhoni. His father and brother work as teachers in a district school, and his mother is the sarpanch of Kambalwadi village. It is this strong family foundation that has contributed heavily to his rise through the ranks to the Olympics. An Aim to Win Olympic Medals In a tight qualification, Kusale finished seventh and only ahead of his Czech rivals through counting inner 10s – he scored 38 to their 36. Afterwards Kusale explained his strategy for the event: “Every shot is a new shot. I was just trying to be patient. The whole match I had the same mindset. Just shoot with patience. At the back of the mind, you are thinking about your scores but it is better if you don’t.“ Coach’s Confidence and Peers’ Motivation National coach Manoj Kumar Ohlyan sounded quite confident about Kusale’s prospects in the finals, saying, “He is in a good frame of mind. We are hoping for the best. We just want him to perform the way he did today. He was patient. He is good technically and physically.“ She also took inspiration from fellow shooter Manu Bhaker, who had enjoyed unprecedented success at the Games. “It has been a great experience so far. I love shooting and I am glad that I have been able to do it for so long. Seeing Manu do well gives us a lot of confidence. If she can do it, we can do it too,” Kusale said. Keeping cool, his Dhoni-like patient calm will be equally important as he waits for a final placing, hopefully inside the top three, that will catapult him into the ranks of Indian sport’s high achievers. The Sportz Planet Desk,Atharva Shetye
