TC to bronze collector

We all know about the ticket collector who made India proud with his cricketing exploits all these years; now, in Paris, in the grandest sporting arena, we've found another who has bronzed his way to our hearts - shooting star Swapnil Kusale.

- Haridev Pushparaj

Swapnil continued the brilliant performance of the Indian shooters at the Paris Olympics, as he bagged a bronze in the 50m rifle three positions event, ensuring India's third medal in the Games. The 29-year-old from Pune, who has roots in Kolhapur, brought his 'A' game to the final, as he shot an aggregate of 451.4 to finish third behind China's Y K Liu and Ukraine's S Kulish, who shot 463.6 and 461.3 respectively, for gold and silver.

At one stage, Swapnil was No. 6 but he nudged his way to the fourth, then oscillated between second and third, finally settling at the bronze medal position.

The Central Railways employee started quite slowly with a disappointing 9.6 in the kneeling round but managed to get back on his feet.