Published: September 28, 2026 at 2:45 pm
India’s Esha Singh produced a remarkable display of composure under pressure to clinch silver in the women’s 25m Pistol event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, following 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 Games record set by Liu Rui at Hangzhou 2023. Esha eventually settled for silver after losing the final tie-breaker 2-3, having earlier held her nerve through several elimination rounds.
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Ranked World No. 1 and the world-record holder, Esha’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, Esha responded under pressure with a perfect 5/5 series to stay alive in the medal race.
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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 secure her place in the gold-medal contest.
The medal marks Esha’s second individual silver in the women’s 25m Pistol at the Asian Games, following her podium finish at the Hangzhou 2023 edition. She had also helped India win the team gold alongside Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan. Pics: X
There was one more test of nerve to come. Esha 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 3-2 to take gold, while the Indian shooter secured a hard-fought silver after surviving five shoot-offs across the final.
Esha claims second silver medal in Asian Games
The medal marks Esha’s second individual silver in the women’s 25m Pistol at the Asian Games, following her podium finish at the Hangzhou 2023 edition. She had also helped India win the team gold alongside Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan.
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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, Esha finished eighth with 580-22x to advance to the final. Manu narrowly missed out, finishing 11th with 579-18x, while Rahi placed 30th with 568-16x.
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Despite competing in four events, Manu Bhaker will return from the Asian Games 2026 without a medal.
She finished fifth in the 10m air pistol final after qualifying third, while India placed fourth in the corresponding team event. She then missed the 25m pistol final and India finished fifth in the team competition.
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Notably, shooting remains one of India’s strongest sports at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as the sport has so far accounted for 12 medals for the country, including one gold, seven silver and four bronze.
