FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Shooting - 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Men's Victory Ceremony - Chateauroux Shooting Centre, Deols, France - August 01, 2024. Silver medallist Serhiy Kulish of Ukraine celebrates REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo
CHATEAUROUX, France (Reuters) - With the daily worry about the impact of the war at home in Ukraine, Serhiy Kulish's silver medal means even more to him than it might have done before - as well as being redemption for having accidentally shot at a rival's target in Tokyo.
Kulish, himself a military officer, had to shift his training base from Cherkasy, in the centre of the country, to a shooting range near the Poland border.
"With air sirens going off almost every day and rockets flying overhead, it was getting impossible to train in Cherkasy," he told Reuters through an interpreter.
While he could hone his skills in his new base, retaining his focus while the war raged was a challenge.
Kulish, 31, showed his phone and scrolled through messages and news about the war.
"Every time you open the phone, what is the information you get? Fighting and casualties - how many people were killed, how many rockets hit targets or missed," he said.
"It makes you worried because you have family and relatives."
Since he is not fighting himself, the medal in the 50 metres rifle three positions was something he could do for Ukraine.
"An Olympic medal is always important," he said gazing at the piece of metal on his palm. "But considering what's going on back home, this is more important than usual.
"I have lot of fans and friends back home, they'd be really happy."
His wife lives in Germany these days with their four-year-old daughter. They usually accompany Kulish to competitions but missed these Games.
Kulish, who won the 10 metres air rifle silver at the Rio Olympics, suffered a bizarre mishap at the Tokyo Games.
He was in medal contention but trying to fix an undone button put him under time pressure and he shot at a rival's target in haste, scoring a zero that got him eliminated.
"I probably would have won the silver or gold there," Kulish said with a wry smile. "Nevertheless, with this medal in Paris, I've forgotten Tokyo. Tokyo is past for me, and Los Angeles is the future, and I hope to win a gold in 2028."
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in Chateauroux; Editing by Ken Ferris and Alison Williams)
