Paris 2024 Olympics shooting: Swapnil Kusale qualifies for 50m rifle 3P final; trap shooters fall short

Indian shooter Swapnil Kusale advanced to the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Paris 2024 Olympics shooting competition after finishing seventh in the qualifying round at the National Shooting Center in Châteauroux on Wednesday.

The top eight of the 44 shooters competing in the qualifying round made it to the final. Asian Games silver medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finished 11th and missed out.

Swapnil Kusale scored a total of 590, including 38 inner 10s (Xs), from three positions. The 28-year-old Indian shooter scored 198 from kneeling, 197 from prone and 195 from standing positions. Aishwary scored 589-33X with 197 in kneeling, 199 in prone and 193 in standing.

Joint world record holder Yukun Liu of the People's Republic of China topped the round with a score of 594-38X and was followed by Norway’s Jon-Hermann Hegg (593-36X) and Rio 2016 silver medallist Serhiy Kulish (592-39X) of Ukraine.

The men’s 50m rifle 3 positions final will be held on Thursday. India have never won a shooting medal at the Olympics in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event.

Indian trap shooters Shreyasi Singh, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and Asian Games 2023 women’s team silver medallist Rajeshwari Kumari failed to make the women’s final.

Rajeshwari Kumari and Shreyasi Singh scored 113 each to finish 22nd and 23rd, respectively. Their elimination was the end of India’s campaign in trap shooting at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Prithviraj Tondaiman finished 21st in the men’s trap qualification round on Tuesday.

Two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh will compete in the women’s 25m pistol event on Friday. India’s campaign in shotgun skeet events also gets underway on the same day.