NAGOYA, JAPAN: India’s Esha Singh produced a remarkable display of composure under pressure to clinch silver in the women’s 25m Pistol event at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan on Monday, September 28.
This was after a dramatic final that saw her battle through multiple shoot-offs before narrowly missing out on gold. The 21-year-old from Hyderabad finished the final with 38 hits, matching China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan, who eventually claimed gold after prevailing in the shoot-off.
Both shooters also equalled the Asian Games record set by Liu Rui at Hangzhou 2023. Esha Singh eventually settled for silver after losing the final tie-breaker 2-3, having earlier held her nerve through several elimination rounds.
Ranked World No. 1 and also the world-record holder, Esha Singh’s path to the silver medal was anything but straightforward. Having qualified eighth with 580 points and 22 Xs, she found herself fourth and on the verge of missing out on a medal in the final. However, Singh responded under pressure with a perfect 5/5 series to stay alive in the medal race.
Esha Singh was tied with North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk in the battle for the silver medal
The drama intensified when Esha Singh 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. Singh finally prevailed 3-2 in the third shoot-off to secure her place in the gold-medal contest.
There was one more test of nerve to come. Singh and China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan finished level on 38 hits after the final series, forcing a shoot-off for gold. The first tie-breaker also ended in a 4-4 draw, sending the contest into another shoot-off.
Xiao eventually edged Esha Singh 3-2 to take gold, while the latter secured a hard-fought silver after surviving five shoot-offs across the final. The medal marks the Indian’s second individual silver in the women’s 25m Pistol at the Asian Games, following her podium finish at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou.
India’s women’s 25m Pistol team finished fifth in the Asian Games
Earlier in the day, India’s women’s 25m Pistol team, comprising Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat, finished fifth with a combined score of 1727-56x. China won gold with 1743-68x, South Korea took silver with 1735-65x, while Chinese Taipei secured bronze with 1734-48x.
In individual qualification, Singh finished eighth with 580-22x to advance to the final. Bhaker narrowly missed out, finishing 11th with 579-18x, while Sarnobat placed 30th with 568-16x.
Notably, shooting remains one of India’s strongest sports at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as it has already accounted for 12 medals for the country, including one gold, seven silver and four bronze.
Cover image courtesy: Special arrangement
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