Indian shooter Esha Singh gave a strong performance to win the silver medal in women’s 25m pistol at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya. The 21-year-old fought through a number of shoot-off rounds to narrowly miss out on the gold medal to China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan.
Both shooters finished the regulation final with 38 hits, which was a Games record, before Xiao took the final shoot-off.
Esha’s route to the podium was particularly difficult. She took eighth in qualification with 580-22x and made it to the 8 shooter final. The Indian shooter was level on points with the Chinese Taipei champion Yen-Ching Cheng and she made it because she had more inner tens. Esha then made an excellent start to the final by hitting all five targets in the opening series.
As the elimination rounds played out, she remained in the lead but the competition was getting more and more intense. Esha was also in a tense struggle with North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk for the bronze medal position. The two shooters were tied on 34 hits and had to go to shoot-offs. Esha held her nerve in the most crucial exchanges and got to the gold-medal race.
The final showdown with Xiao was also close. The Chinese shooter and Esha had only a small margin of difference before the tournament ended in another shoot-off. Both athletes hit four times in the first shoot-off and a third decisive round took place.
Esha had two hits in the final shoot-off while Xiao had three. That earned the Chinese shooter the gold medal and Esha silver. But despite missing out on the top spot, Esha finished the competition with 38 hits, the same as Xiao. North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk took the bronze with 34 hits.
Esha Singh Adds Another Asian Games Silver
The silver medal adds to Esha’s growing record at this Asian Games. She had already won silver in women’s 25m pistol at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which was another podium performance for the Indian shooter in the event. She also has a silver medal in the women’s 10m air pistol competition at the 2023 Games.
Esha arrived at the Aichi-Nagoya Games in strong international form. She is the current world No. 1 in women’s 25m pistol and had also set a world record in the ISSF World Cup in Munich earlier in 2026. The ISSF reported Esha won the Munich 25m pistol final after breaking the world record.
Her third Asian Games medal also further underscores her strong performance at the highest level of international shooting. The final proved her ability to remain at the peak under pressure, especially on the repeated shoot-offs for the medal positions.
Esha was India’s only Finalist In Women’s 25m Pistol
Esha was the only Indian shooter who qualified for the individual women’s 25m pistol final in Aichi-Nagoya. Manu Bhaker finished 11th in qualification with 579-18x, while Rahi Sarnobat placed 30th with 568-16x.
Esha’s qualification score of 580-22x was enough to secure the final spot after the inner-ten count separated her from Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Ching Cheng. Her ability to convert that narrow qualification into a silver medal made the final even more significant.
Earlier in the day, India’s women’s 25m pistol team of Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh and Rahi Sarnobat finished fifth in the team event. So Esha’s individual silver was a podium finish for India after the team narrowly missed out on a medal.
It also added another medal to India’s shooting campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Esha also earned another individual Asian Games silver and furthered her record as one of the country’s top pistol shooters on the international stage.
