India’s Esha Singh had to settle for a silver medal after the reigning world no.1 fought through five shoot-offs in an entertaining battle in the women’s 25m pistol individual competition at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Monday. She missed the gold medal by just one shot.
The 21-year-old from Hyderabad won three shoot-offs to rise up to silver medal contention before being engaged in two more in the gold medal clash with China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan. The two shooters ended with scores of 38 at the end of regulation series but faltered in the final shot of the shoot-off to be content with the second spot.
North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk took the bronze after losing the shoot-off to Esha and ended with a score of 34. “Yes, I was under pressure and this is the longest match of my career so far. My arms were aching at the end of it,” said the youngster after her silver medal.
Esha’s path to the silver medal was anything but straightforward. Having qualified eighth with 580 points and 22 Xs (10s), she found herself fourth and on the verge of missing out on a medal in the final. However, Esha responded under pressure with a perfect 5/5 series to stay alive.
The drama intensified when Esha was tied with North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk at 34 hits in the battle for the silver medal. The pair remained inseparable through the first two shoot-offs, with both tie-breakers ending 3-3. Esha finally prevailed 3-2 in the third shoot-off to enter top two.
There was one more test of nerve to come. Esha and Jiaruixuan finished level on 38 hits after the final series, forcing a shoot-off. The first tie-breaker also ended in a 4-4 draw, sending the contest into another shoot-off. Xiao eventually edged Esha 3-2 to take gold.
The medal marks Esha’s second individual silver in the women’s 25m Pistol at the , following her podium finish in Hangzhou in 2023.
One of the leading pistol shooters in the country, Esha specialises in 10m Air Pistol and 25m Pistol. Born in 2005 in Hyderabad, Telangana, she began shooting at the age of nine after accompanying her father, former rally driver Sachin Singh, to a shooting range. Before taking up shooting, she participated in badminton, tennis, skating and go-karting.
Esha made an early mark in the sport, becoming the youngest senior National Champion in Women’s 10m Air Pistol at the age of 13 in 2018. She subsequently went on to win medals at the Asian Championships, ISSF World Championships, World Cups and Asian Games.
At the 2023 Asian Games, she won four medals, including gold in the Women’s 25m Pistol Team event and silver in the individual 25m Pistol event. In 2023, she won two gold medals at the ISSF World Championships in Baku and was awarded the Arjuna Award for her achievements.
Esha represented India at the Paris 2024 Olympics. At the ISSF World Cup in Munich 2026, she won 25m Pistol gold with a world record score of 43 hits, and later won another World Cup gold in Hangzhou.
More to follow…
