Ranked 12th in the world, Swapnil earned the honour just five days before his 29th birthday on August 6, making it a personal double-whammy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
As the news flashed on television on Thursday afternoon, Kolhapur erupted in joy, as his proud parents \u2013 schoolteacher Suresh Kusale and Sarpanch Anita Kusale \u2013 along with his brother and other relatives cheered with tears of happiness, brimming over with emotions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Kusales\u2019 humble dwelling at Kambalwadi village became the epicentre for the celebrations with many youngsters and kids seen dancing, cheering, and clapping to express their admiration for \u2018Aapla Swapnil\u2019 (our Swapnil), their illustrious hero.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For both Kolhapur and Maharashtra, Swapnil brought the second individual Olympic medal after a lengthy wait of 72 years. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
The legendary Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (1926-1984) from Kolhapur secured Independent India\u2019s first individual Olympic medal by winning the bronze in freestyle wrestling at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Swapnil's thorny journey to abrupt stardom is punctuated with lots of perspiration, shedding silent tears, quietly gulping disappointments, and confronting financial or other challenges at various levels for the past nearly 15 years since he developed a passion for shooting, with a cool, never-say-die attitude.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSwapnil was always dedicated and hard-working\u2026 He was absolutely focused on his ultimate goal. He never bothered about holidays or festivals or such diversions. This (bronze) is the reward for all his silent struggles and sacrifices for the past so many years,\u201d said his proud father Suresh Kusale, fighting back the flood of joy welling up in his eyes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cRight from his childhood, he had that spark and passion for sports\u2026 He was extremely self-disciplined and achieved this with the blessings of Lord Pandurang. We are very happy for him and the laurels he has brought to the country,\u201d said proud mom Anita Kusale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His elderly grandmother also flashed a grin with a large red tilak\/bindi on her forehead and thick spectacles which emitted her thrill at her grandson's feat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cHe has exceeded all our expectations\u2026,\" she said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Beaming sibling Suraj said: \u201cI am proud to be his brother\u2026He had the whole country\u2019s goodwill and best wishes with him when he qualified for the event.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hailing from a nondescript village and catapulted to the world stage, Swapnil\u2019s father Suresh Kusale narrated briefly the travails of his determined son -- how he remained away from the family from the age of 10 at a boarding school, then to the famed Bhonsala Military School (Nashik), the Sports Prabodhini Yojana and so on. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
He also took a loan to finance a good rifle for his promising young lad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For almost eight years, Swapnil practised on an old German-make rifle as a new one was beyond the family\u2019s reach. But after he won a silver at the National Games in Kerala in 2015, he landed a job with the Central Railways as a TTE in Pune under sports quota.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThat caught the nation\u2019s eyes and our financial situation also eased, enabling him to concentrate on the bigger goal of Olympics, which he narrowly missed in 2021 (Tokyo). But he finally achieved his dream and made it to Paris,\u201d said Suresh Kusale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The rest is history.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His coach Deepali Deshpande (54) said she never had \u201cany doubts in Swapnil\u2019s abilities and talent to reach the final, as he was meant for Olympics\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
According to his family, as quoted by local media, Swapnil is a religious and patriotic person, sports an artistic \u2018trishul\u2019 tattoo of 'MahaMrityunjaya Mantra' on his back, has \u2018Bharat\u2019 printed on his rifle, and always relishes a simple meal of \u2018bhakri-and-methi bhaji\u2019, prepared by his mother with dollops of love\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His coach Deepali Deshpande (54) said she never had \u201cany doubts in Swapnil\u2019s abilities and talent to reach the final, as he was meant for Olympics\u201d.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Paris Olympics News<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n