Swapnil Kusale wins Bronze medal at Men's 50m Rifle 3 position event

New Delhi: India shooter Swapnil Kusale on Thursday wins the Bronze medal for India in the 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Paris Olympics.

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 50m rifle prone event, a discipline which has been discontinued at the Olympics.

Swapnil Kusale draws inspiration from M S Dhoni as he too is a railway ticket collector like the cricket icon was early in his career.

The 29-year-old from Kambalwadi village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra has been competing in international events since 2012 but he had to wait another 12 years to make his Olympics debut at the Paris Games.

Being calm and patient are pre-requisites for a shooter and those two traits are also the hallmark of Dhoni's personality. It is therefore no surprise that Kusale relates to Dhoni's life story.

Kusale has been working for Central Railways since 2015.