Coach Deepali’s redemption through Swapnil’s Olympic medal, fueled by Amitabh Bachchan’s Khuda Gawah dialogue

By Saurabh Duggal 

On Thursday, rifle shooter Swapnil Kusale from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, secured India's third medal at the Paris Olympics, winning bronze in the 50m 3 Positions rifle event. This achievement marks him as the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in this event, and it brings a sense of redemption for his coach and former Olympian, Deepali Deshpande, following the Tokyo Olympics debacle.

"Swapnil's Olympic medal is a great achievement for the entire country, especially for me as a coach. We have worked hard for this," said Deepali, who competed in the 2004 Athens Olympics. "Swapnil is a very disciplined and hardworking shooter, and I have seen him closely from his initial days to becoming an Olympic medalist."

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were disappointing for Indian shooters, who returned empty-handed despite high expectations. Deepali, a national coach at the time, faced criticism and was dismissed from her role after the Games.

"It was the worst period of my shooting career, both as a player and a coach. No one wants to lose, but due to various reasons, our shooters couldn’t win any medals. I was one of the scapegoats, and the Tokyo debacle broke me," Deepali recalled. "It took me time to get back on track, and my husband motivated me with Amitabh Bachchan's dialogue from Khuda Gawah: 'Zindagi aur Maut Ka Faisla to aasmanon per hai, itna mat soch. Soch gehri ho jaye to faisle kamjor ho jaate hain.' After that, I stopped overthinking Tokyo's performance and focused on Paris."

Deepali’s trainees—Swapnil Kusale, Sift Kaur Samra, and Arjun Babuta—are part of the Indian shooting contingent in Paris. "After Tokyo, I didn’t have the courage to look at any photos from the Games. It was only when my trainees began securing quota places for Paris that I revisited those memories. As a shooter myself, I understand the value of participating in the Olympics, and we learned a lot from Tokyo," she said.

Read full story in BBC Marathi

https://www.bbc.com/marathi/articles/c9x8z630zyeo