India’s Esha Singh staged a remarkable comeback under pressure to win the silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. She secured second place after successfully negotiating multiple shoot-off rounds.

This is Esha’s third silver medal at the Asian Games. Earlier, she had won silver medals in the individual and team events of the 10m air pistol at the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games.

Esha Qualifies for Final in Eighth Place

Esha secured her place among the top eight with difficulty, qualifying for the final after finishing eighth with a score of 580-22x. However, once the medal round began, the Indian shooter put her earlier performance behind her and opened the final with five accurate hits from five shots.

During the early stages of the competition, she remained among the leading shooters, although the contest for the top positions became increasingly intense. China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan took the lead with a series of perfect performances, while North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk also remained firmly in medal contention.

Multiple Shoot-Offs Decide Medal Positions

The elimination stages brought further ups and downs. After registering three hits, Esha slipped down the rankings, but she made a strong comeback by hitting all five targets in a 5-of-5 series and remained in contention. When Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh was eliminated, the Indian shooter secured a medal.

The contest for the bronze medal between Esha and Kim then turned into an unusual series of shoot-offs, with both shooters level at 34-34 hits. Initially, both recorded three hits each, forcing another shoot-off. A technical interruption before the contest resumed added to the tension, after which the situation moved to a single-shot format.

Esha eventually prevailed, securing the bronze medal and earning the right to compete against Xiao for the gold medal.

Esha Finishes With Silver After Dramatic Final

The final contest was also highly dramatic. There was only one hit separating Xiao and Esha, but the Indian shooter then recorded four hits to take the contest into another shoot-off. Both shooters subsequently recorded four hits each, sending the contest into another shoot-off.

With the gold medal within reach, Esha recorded two hits while Xiao registered three, leaving the Indian shooter with the silver medal. Their overall scores reached 38, matching the Games record of 38 hits set by China’s Liu Rui at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Esha Holds Women’s 25m Pistol World Record

The medal adds another achievement to Esha’s rapidly growing record in the event. The Indian shooter currently holds the world record in the women’s 25m pistol event. She recorded 43 hits at the Munich World Cup in May and is also currently ranked World No. 1.

Esha’s silver medal brought a positive end to a dramatic morning for India at the shooting range, following a disappointing team final in which the Indian women’s team missed an important target.

Among the 44 shooters participating in the event, Esha was the only Indian to qualify for the individual final, finishing eighth. Manu finished 11th, while Rahi finished 30th.

Only the top eight shooters were to qualify for the final. Esha secured qualification after being tied with Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Ching Cheng on 580 points, with the Indian shooter progressing on the basis of hitting the bull’s-eye more times. Esha hit the centre 22 times (22x), while Cheng did so 20 times (20x).