Shooter Swapnil Kusale, who won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, arrived in Pune on Thursday, where he was given a grand welcome.
He landed at Pune International Airport in the morning, where he was greeted with the beating of traditional dhol and tasha.
A huge crowd of admirers and well-wishers were present to meet, greet, and cheer him. Scores of excited airport and airline staff, along with passengers, craned their necks and kept their phones ready to 'shoot' the arrival of the big shooter.
As Kusale casually walked out of the arrival lounge through the terminal building, he was met with a thunderous round of applause, and many eagerly captured the moment on their phones, giving the security personnel a tough time.
Acknowledging the warm and spontaneous reception, Kusale, though appearing a bit weary, managed to smile, wave, and fold his hands in gratitude for the love and affection showered upon him. He was then escorted to a waiting vehicle for his other engagements.
Kusale, who hails from Kolhapur, next visited the famous Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati temple in the heart of the city, where he offered prayers.
With folded hands, he reverently bowed before the idol of the elephant-headed god and offered a silent prayer in gratitude for his historic victory—bringing a second Olympic bronze medal to Maharashtra after a gap of 72 years.
Later, Kusale visited the shooting range at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, where he was felicitated. "I feel great. I feel proud to have been born in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's Maharashtra. After several years, I received the opportunity to win a medal for my country at such a large-scale competition," he told mediapersons.
The Maharashtra government has already announced a prize of ₹1 crore for him. The Central Railway also promoted Kusale and appointed him as an officer on special duty. He had originally joined as a Commercial cum Ticket Clerk in Central Railway's Pune Division in 2015.
Kusale had previously won gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games in China, the 2022 World Cup in Baku, and the 2021 World Cup in New Delhi.
