Swapnil Kusale's Railways promotion needed an Olympic medal and 9 years to get through

Swapnil Kusale's bronze medal win at the Paris Olympics on Thursday not only pushed India's medal tally up a notch along with stirring emotions across India, but also expedited his long-delayed promotion at the Central Railway office, TOI has reported.

The Olympian from Pune has been working with the Railways since 2015 and had repeatedly sought a promotion but was never considered.

Shooter Swapnil Kusale, 28, won a bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3 position shooting event, becoming the first Indian to win in this discipline. He has been competing in international events since 2012 but he had to wait another 12 years to make his Olympics debut at the Paris Games.


Also Read: Swapnil Kusale's journey from Kolhapur to Paris: A ticket collector to an Olympian, here's all you need to know

"He was very disappointed by the attitude of his office. He has been working with the Railways for the past nine years, but was never considered for promotion," Swapnil's coach Deepali Deshpande told TOI.

However, Renjith Maheshwari, assistant sports officer at Central Railway, assured TOI that Swapnil would receive a "double promotion by tomorrow (Friday)."

"This is incorrect information. His promotion was not held back," he said, adding: "We have spoken to the general manager and hopefully, he will get a double promotion in two days."

Also Read: Indian shooters lead the medal tally; Swapnil Kusale bags bronze in men's 50m rifle 3 positions shooting

Swapnil's colleagues at the railways noted that he was deeply hurt by the attitude of his superiors. "Whenever Swapnil asked about his promotion, he got rude replies and that hurt him more," a colleague told TOI on condition of anonymity.

"He was asked to report to the office before going to Paris to get his promotion file pushed. Swapnil didn't go to the office since he was busy training," Deshpande added.

Following Swapnil's medal win, Central Railways issued a directive for his promotion on Thursday.

Responding to the coach's allegations regarding Swapnil's promotion, Central Railway chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said he would need to check with the Pune division. "Apparently, there is no anomaly," he said, promising to verify and respond.

(With TOI inputs)