India has earned the third quota in shooting for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics after the 27-year-old Swapnil Kusale finished in the fourth position in Men's 50m rifle 3 positions (R3P) event in the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cario, Egypt.
In the Ranking Match, Swapnil Kusale just failed to ensure a medal for his country as his 407.6 scores ended in the fourth spot. However, his top-four finish was enough for India to secure one spot for the Men's 50m rifle 3 positions (R3P) event in the next Summer Olympics.
Norwegian Jon-Hermann Hegg won the bronze medal after scoring 407.9. However, Hegg already secured Norway’s spot for the Men's 50m rifle 3 positions (R3P) event for Paris 2024 by winning a silver medal in the 2022 European Championships in Wroclaw, Poland, last September. So, the fifth-placed Liu Yukun (357.0) secured a quota for the People’s Republic of China for the Paris 2024.
In the meantime, Ukrainian Serhiy Kulish won the Gold Medal Match after beating Polish Tomasz Bartnik by 16-6 as both countries have also earned their quotas for the next summer Olympics. In the Ranking Match, Kulish (413.9) and Bartnik (409.4) closely beat Kusale and Hegg to qualify for the Gold Medal Match.
Before the Ranking Match, Indian Swapnil Kusale first scored 588-32x in the Elimination round, and later, he finished the second position in the Qualification round after scoring 593-40x.
Earlier, the shooters Bhowneesh Mendiratta (in Men’s trap) and Rudrankksh Patil (in Men’s 10m air rifle) secured India’s first two quotas in shooting for the Paris 2024.
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Who is Swapnil Kusale?
At the end of the Men's 50m rifle 3 positions (R3P) event in the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol in Cario, Egypt, Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale is standing in the ninth position in the World Ranking of the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions.
Last year (2021), in New Delhi, Kusale was a part of the gold medalist Indian team (along with Chain Singh and Neeraj Kumar) for the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Team Men (R3X40TEAMM) event in the ISSF World Cup.
This year, Kusale was a member of the gold medal-winning Indian team (along with Ashi Chouksey) for the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Mixed Team (R3PMIX) event in the ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. In that same competition, he was also part of the silver medalist Indian team (along with Goldi Gurjar and Deepak Kumar) for the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Mixed Team (R3PMIX) event.
Also, in that ISSF World Cup 2022 in Baku, Kusale won a silver medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men’s (R3PM).
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