Paris: Right throughout his life Swapnil Kusale has had to play the waiting game. Having begun shooting in 2009 after being enrolled in a state programme by his father, the 28-year-old had to wait another three years just to compete in an international event. The wait for an Olympic Games, even longer — 15 years.
Even when Kusale checked into Chateauroux, the beautiful French town which is as sleepy as the Kambalwadi village near Maharashtra's Kolhapur where he was born on August 6, 1995, he was looked upon just as a member of the shooting contingent. The likes of Manu Bhaker, Sift Kaur Samra and Arjun Babuta were amongst the leading contenders to land a medal.
Even in his discipline, the 50m rifle 3 position, the highly rated Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar was touted as a medal possibility. Although Kusale had two golds and two silvers each at World Cups plus a World Championship bronze medal, the spotlight was on Aishwary because the 22-year was competing his second Olympics and had won more accolades.
Accustomed to always shooting behind the shadows, Kusale drew the spotlight on him on Wednesday when he outdid his illustrious colleague to secure a spot in Thursday’s final. And with a nation watching with bated breath, the steely Kusale unleashed the waiting game strategy to perfection to bag a bronze in the 50m rifle 3 position, thereby becoming the first from India to do so in the discipline.
As Norwegian Jon-Hermann went hammer and tongs in the opening kneeling segment, almost threatening to open up a massive lead, all Kusale did in a tense high-quality final was to keep himself in the race. Unlike other rifle events, the 3-position is a marathon comprising three stances — kneeling, prone and standing. It commands immense strength, both physical and mental.
Jon-Hermann kept hitting the high scores while eventual goal medal winner Yukun Liu of China and silver-medallist Serhiy Kulish kept themselves close on his rear view mirror with some superb shooting as well. Kusale didn’t get distracted by his rivals but just focussed himself on staying in the pack.
For most of the competition he kept himself bunched in the mid-pack, giving himself enough breathing room before the eliminations kicked in. And once they started, Kusale, having patiently soaked in all the pressure which felt a lot more for the shooters considering their heavy leather clothing they were adorning, slowly began to switch gears, typical of marathon runners.
He kept moving up the leaderboard gradually and then thrust himself into third place when four shooters were left. The next round was going to be the all important one which could change his life from relative obscurity to stardom. It was the important shot of his life and his heart rate peaked to never-before levels.
Kusale calmed his nerves but could only manage 9.9. There was a chorus of ‘ohhhh’ from the Indian section of fans but when Czech Republic’s Jiri Privratsky shot 10.3, those ‘ohhh’ turned into ‘yeaahhh’ as Kusale was confirmed a bronze medal. Kusale let out a small smile and attempted for a medal of a different hue. It didn’t happen but his life had already changed.
Early struggles
Just like scores of athletes born in small towns, Kusale too endured several struggles before landing his feet on the Olympic podium. When his father, who hails from an agricultural family but made his living as a teacher, enrolled him into the Maharashtra state government’s sports programme for kids in 2009, Kusale had to make a choice if he wanted to strongly pursue sports as a career. His choice was easy, shooting. For the family of modest means though, it was hard.
His father took some loans at the start to fund his first rifle but it still wasn’t enough. Kusale then took up a job as a ticket collector, just like legendary former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni, in 2015 to ensure his dream of being an active shooter doesn’t get curtailed.
Thanks to his impressive performances at the national and international level, Kusale didn’t have to wait at stations. He was given a green signal by Railways to train his ambitions at the ranges and Kusale spent hours at the Balewadi Sports Complex, honing and perfecting his craft.
An admirer of Dhoni given his inspirational rise from a cricketing outpost to a global cricketing star, Kusale dreamt of something big before boarding the flight to Paris. He only said he did not achieve it and was a tad unhappy. But there’s no denying the scale of his achievement that is sure to send his village into delirium and nation into celebration.