Nerves of steel: Esha Singh survives 4 shoot-offs to win pistol silver at Asian Games
Esha Singh won silver in the women’s 25m pistol event at the Asian Games on Monday after surviving four shoot-offs before losing the fifth and final tie-breaker to China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan.
The 21-year-old from Hyderabad, who is the reigning world No. 1, qualified for the final in eighth place with a score of 580 and 22 Xs. She then fought her way into medal contention, surviving two tied shoot-offs and winning a third against North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk before securing a place in the gold-medal contest.
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Esha and Kim were tied at 34 hits in the fight for the silver-medal position. The first two shoot-offs ended 3-3, before Esha prevailed 3-2 in the third to move into the gold-medal contest.
Esha then faced Xiao for gold after both shooters finished the regulation final with 38 hits, equalling the Games Record set by Liu Rui at Hangzhou 2023.
The first shoot-off between Esha and Xiao ended 4-4, forcing another tie-breaker. Xiao eventually edged Esha 3-2 in the final shoot-off to claim gold, with Esha taking silver.
“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,” Esha said after the final.
ESHA GIVES INDIA SHOOTING SILVER
The silver was Esha’s second individual medal in the women’s 25m pistol at the Asian Games, following her silver at Hangzhou 2023.
North Korea’s Kim took bronze after finishing behind Esha in the shoot-off.
Esha’s medal also gave India an individual podium finish in the event after two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker failed to qualify for the final. Manu finished 11th in qualification with 579 points and 18 Xs, while Rahi Sarnobat was 30th with 568 points and 16 Xs.
Earlier on Monday, the Indian trio of Manu, Esha and Rahi finished fifth in the women’s 25m pistol team event with a combined score of 1727-56x. China won gold with 1743-68x, South Korea took silver with 1735-65x and Chinese Taipei claimed bronze with 1734-48x.
Shooting has now contributed 12 medals to India’s tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, including one gold, seven silver and four bronze.
– Ends
