Paris, France, August 1, 2024: China won its 10th gold medal of Paris 2024 and India added a third bronze of the Games in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions at Chateuaroux Shooting Centre, 250km outside Paris, on Thursday morning.
World record holder Liu Yukun earned the gold medal with a score of 463.6; Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine won silver with 461.3 and India’s Swapnil Kusale took the bronze with 451.4.
It was China’s 10th gold medal of the Games and their fourth in shooting, while India won its third bronze medal – all in shooting. Swapnil won India’s first medal in this event in Olympic history.
This was also the fourth gold medal for China in this event, the most by any NOC. They also won in 2004, 2008 and 2020.
Liu said his victory was very much a team effort.
“The good results are because of my team, my coach, my leaders, our national team and all of them who have supported me,” he said.
“It’s a collective effort. It’s not just me and an individual result. It’s a good effort, and I have the support of everyone. It is thanks to everyone that I have a very good result this time.”
Asked if he was a genius, Liu replied: “I am.”
Kusale guaranteed a third shooting medal for India – a record in this sport for India at the Olympics.
When asked how he balanced work as a railway ticket inspector and training, he replied: “I have not been working; the railway gave me 365 days leave to get ready to play and perform at these Olympics. I have just been shooting and focusing on competing for India. I feel good that I won the bronze for India.”
Kusale described his coach, Deepali Deshpande, as “like a second mother to me.”
“I’ve been with my coach since 2020. She has supported me really well in every situation, mentally and physically, with the challenges I’ve been through. She has supported me no matter what, and she’s like a mother to me.”
When asked how he handled the pressure, he said: “I just focused on my breathing, and I could hear how loud the crowd was, so I want to make them happy. I focused on my body and focused on my shooting.”
Kusale was a gold medallist in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions team at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. The Indian team of Kusale, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Akhil Sheoran set a world record 1769 points as they took the title.