India’s young shooting star Esha Singh won a silver medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after a tense women’s pistol competition that went down to several shoot-offs.
The 21-year-old Hyderabad shooter fought strongly throughout the final and came close to winning gold. After being tied with China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan on 38 points, the two shooters entered a final shoot-off to decide the winner. Esha narrowly lost the decisive tiebreaker and finished with the silver medal.
North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk secured the bronze medal with a score of 34.
Esha’s path to the medal was not easy. She began the qualification round in eighth position but gradually improved as the competition progressed. She showed strong concentration during the final and handled the pressure of multiple shoot-offs to remain in medal contention.
During the final, Esha was tied with Kim and successfully won two shoot-offs to move into the top two positions. Her final battle against Xiao was equally close, with both shooters finishing level on 38 points before the gold medal was decided in another shoot-off.
The silver medal continues Esha’s strong record at the Asian Games. She also won silver in the same event at the 2023 Asian Games, making her a two-time Asian Games medallist in the discipline.
Esha has built an impressive international career at a young age. She has represented India at the Olympic Games and has won medals at major international competitions, including the ISSF World Championships, World Cups and Asian Championships.
Born in Hyderabad in 2005, Esha started shooting when she was just nine years old. Her father, Sachin Singh, a former rally driver, introduced her to the sport after taking her to a shooting range.
Before choosing shooting as her main sport, Esha tried several activities, including badminton, tennis, skating and go-karting. Her talent in shooting soon became clear, and she began competing at the national level.
In 2018, at the age of 13, she became the youngest National Champion in the women’s 10m air pistol event. She continued to make progress through international competitions and established herself as one of India’s leading young pistol shooters.
Her medal-winning performances at Asian and world-level competitions have further strengthened her reputation. She has also been part of India’s Olympic shooting contingent and has set records during her international career.
Although Esha missed out on gold after the final shoot-off, her silver medal adds another major achievement to her career. Her ability to perform under pressure and recover from a difficult qualification round highlights her continued development as an elite shooter.
At just 21, Esha remains one of India’s prominent names in pistol shooting, with further international competitions ahead of her.