Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale has been promoted by the Central Railways of Pune division after he won the bronze medal in the men's 50m air rifle 3 positions at the Paris Olympics 2024 on Thursday, August 1.
Swapnil became the third Indian shooter after Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh to clinch a medal for India at the ongoing edition of the Summer Games in the capital of France. The 28-year-old Pune shooter scored 451.4 points in order to finish in the top three and secure his first Olympic medal of his career.
Along with his bronze medal, Swapnil scripted history by becoming the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in 50m air rifle 3 positions. Apart from being a shooter, Swapnil Kusale has been working at Central Railways of Pune Division over the last nine years. Following his historic bronze medal, the Pune shooter received promotion from ticket collector to officer on special duty.
The Central Railways confirmed their employee Swapnil Kusale's promotion via X handle (formerly Twitter).
"Central Railway honours it's Olympic medalist Mr Swapnil Kusale. In an apt recognition to his achievement in the Paris Olympics he has been promoted as Officer on Special Duty in sports cell. Best wishes for the new role, champion." CR wrote on X.
Earlier, it was reported that Swapnil Kusale was never considered for promotion during his nine years with Central Railways until he propelled officials to quickly push his file for promotion following his bronze medal win at the ongoing Paris Summer Games. The 28-year-old has been seeking promotion from the Central Railways for years but officials didn't pay heed to his request.
Apart from promotion by Central Railways, Swapnil Kusale will also receive INR 1 crore as cash reward from Maharashtra Governement as announced by the state chief minister Eknath Shinde.
'I was a little nervous': Swapnil Kusale
The Olympic bronze medalist Swapnii Kusale admitted he had a little nervousness when the final began but resisted himself looking at the leaderboard and stuck to his basics to ultimately secure a place on the podium with third-place finish.
"I feel great. I was a little nervous and my heart is still racing. Ultimately, it’s a sport and I’m proud to have brought home a bronze for India." Kusale said after clinching his first Olympic medal for the country.
"I didn’t target anything and just focused solely on my breathing. I was not looking at the leaderboard and sticking to what I’d been practicing for many years.
I was also neglecting the leaderboard announcement as I only wanted the Indian fans to make noise. It was making me feel good and I wanted to see them happy,” he added.
Swapnil Kusale realised his Olympic dream after he made it to 21-member Indian shooting contingent following the trails held in Bhopal this year. He finished fifth in the trials, but selected as a second shooter based on his high scores in the first three Olympic shooting trials.
