The parents of Olympic shooting bronze medalist Swapnil Kusale on Thursday said they were sure he would win a medal for the “tricolour and the country”.

“We let him focus on his work and didn't even call him yesterday so that he should not get distracted,” Swapnil's father told reporters in Kolhapur, soon after their son won a bronze for India in Paris.

“For the last 10 to 12 years, he was mostly away from home, focusing on his marksmanship.

“People have been calling up incessantly to congratulate us,” he said.

Swapnil's mother said the family hails from a village in Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra.

“He studied in a public school and developed a liking for shooting while at Sangli,” she said. He later went to Nashik for further training in the sport, she added.

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