Paris Olympics: India eyes third medal as shooter Swapnil Kusale qualifies for final

India is looking forward to its third medal in the ongoing Paris Olympics after shooter Swapnil Kusale finished seventh in the qualification round of men's 50m 3P to qualify for the final.

Indian shooters Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Swapnil Kusale appeared in the men's 50m 3P qualification round at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Marking his Olympic debut, Kusale finished seventh with a score of 590-38x, while, Tomar ranked 11th with a total of 589-33x. Tomar, however failed to make his place in the final round as only top eight shooters have qualified for the final round. 

People's Republic of China's Liu Yukun registered the qualification Olympic record with a total of 594-38x.

The final event is scheduled to take place on August 1 at 1 PM IST, when India will eye their third medal.

Earlier at the Summer Games, Bhaker had won bronze in the women's individual 10M Air pistol event. Manu-Sarabjot beat South Korea's Lee Wonho and Oh Ye Jin 16-10 in the Bronze Medal play-off match.

With this medal, India's medal tally has increased to two in the Paris Olympics. 

Manu's hunt for her third Olympic medal will begin when she takes part in the 25m pistol event.

The 22-year-old became the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympics. Bhaker brought India's first medal in the ongoing mega event as she won a bronze medal with a score of 221.7 at the 10 Metre Women's Air Pistol event.

It was a redemption arc for Manu after her pistol malfunctioned at the Tokyo Olympics. She made history by becoming the first Indian woman in 20 years to reach a shooting final in an individual event of the Olympics since Suma Shirur in 2004.