Sports prabodhini

Sarpanch Anita Kusale: There couldn’t have been a better pre-birthday gift for himself and the country as shooter Swapnil Kusale clinched the bronze in men's 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday -- scripting history by bagging only the second Olympic medal for both Maharashtra and Kolhapur after a long gap of 72 years.

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.

As the news flashed on television on Thursday afternoon, Kolhapur erupted in joy, as his proud parents – schoolteacher Suresh Kusale and Sarpanch Anita Kusale – along with his brother and other relatives cheered with tears of happiness, brimming over with emotions.