"I need to improve to bring that gold medal": Kusale sets target for LA Oly. 28

Though Kolhapurbased Swapnil Kusale 29 became Indiarsquos firstever Olympic bronze medalwinner in 50m rifle 3 positions in Paris recently he revealed a dream is yet to be realisedldquoFeeling very good now but my dream is yet to be fulfilled which is to win a gold medal at the Olympics My next goal will be to achieve it at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 I need to work hard for that so I will soon start my preparationsrdquo Kusale told Sunday midday from PuneKusale who earlier clinched gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and World Cup in New Delhi in 2022 and 2021 respectively and a bronze at World Championships at Cairo in 2022 admitted that there will be more pressure of expectations on him He said ldquoYes there will be more expectations now but I think to keeping better control of myself will be the key factor I will focus on the areas which I need to improve to bring that gold medalrdquoAlso ReadParis Olympics 2024 My next target will be to prepare for the 2028 Olympics Aman SehrawatlsquoFocus on myselfrsquoKusale hit a few low scores in the kneeling and prone positions before making a strong comeback in the standing position in the final at Paris He revealed how he managed to do better in the deciding moment ldquoBefore the final I told myself that whatever happens the most important thing is to focus on myself and I was just doing that I just tried to be in the present During the final I never saw which rank I was who was leading the chart or how many points the other shooters got I was not following any score in that finalStrong support in finalldquoI felt the Swapnil who played in the earlier rounds and who was playing in the final were completely different physically and mentally I was a different shooter altogether confidence wise Actually I was enjoying it and felt very happy when supporters from behind shouted and celebrated my good effort The feeling of my performance helping people of my country enjoy and celebrate makes it special Then I kept telling myself that I was doing well and I need to give every shot to them supporters I did that before every shot and it helped me give my bestrdquo said Kusale of his maiden Olympic final experience Kusale claimed the shooting range at Balewadi in Pune is his second home and credited his personal coach exOlympian Deepali Deshpande and team for the achievement ldquoThe Olympic medal was possible just because of my team I was playing that game in Paris but all these people trained me to achieve that result ldquoDeepali madam is like my mother She has seen me since 2012 and knows everythingmdashhighs and lows of my career She knows what I need even during practice or off the shooting rangeldquoMy sports psychologist Vaibhav Agashe helps me keep my mental fitness physio Sunita Jain is like my elder sister who always looks after my needs Nutritionist Kalyani Mankar madam also helped me a lot to keep me fit I must thank Aksahydada Ashtaputre who participated in the 2016 Munich World Cup who has treated and helped me like his younger brother since 2014 Actually these are my family members and the shooting range is my second homerdquo Kusale whose next competition is New Delhi ISSF World Cup Final in October 2024 signed off