Esha Singh wins Asian Games 25m pistol silver after shoot-offs

India’s Esha Singh won the silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol individual competition at the Asian Games after a tense final that required five shoot-offs. The 21-year-old missed gold by one shot against China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan after the pair finished level on 38 at the end of the regulation series.

Singh’s result kept India in the medal hunt in an event that also saw Manu Bhaker miss out on the final. Singh had entered the medal contest from eighth place after qualification, then battled through repeated shoot-offs to secure a place in the gold-medal clash.

Five shoot-offs decide the medal positions

The women’s 25m pistol final developed into an extended contest for Singh. She won three shoot-offs to move into silver-medal contention before facing two further shoot-offs against Xiao in the battle for gold.

With Singh and Xiao tied at 38 following the regulation series, the final came down to another shoot-off. Singh faltered on the last shot of that sequence and finished second, while Xiao took gold. North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk claimed bronze after losing a shoot-off to Singh and finishing on 34.

Singh said the length of the contest made it particularly demanding. “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,” she said.

The silver medal followed a qualification round in which Singh recorded 580. That score was enough to send her through despite starting the final phase in eighth, and she steadily worked her way into contention through the decisive shoot-off stages.

Bhaker misses the final as India fall short in team event

Manu Bhaker did not advance from qualification, scoring 579 to finish 11th. The two-time Olympic medallist therefore ended the event without a medal, having also failed to reach the podium in the women’s 10m air pistol earlier in the competition.

India were also in contention in the women’s 25m pistol team event, but did not finish on the podium. Rahi Sarnobat’s fourth series proved costly, as she scored 39 in that five-shot series. Sarnobat finished 30th with 568.

“This is the first time that something like this has happened in my career and I do not know how it happened,” said Sarnobat, the 2018 Asian Games gold medallist.

Silver caps Singh’s long final

For Singh, the individual silver was the key outcome from a final defined by narrow margins. She had to navigate five shoot-offs in total, winning three to stay in the medal race and then taking silver after the final one-shot difference against Xiao.

The result underlined Singh’s ability to remain in contention through a prolonged elimination-style finish. Her 580 in qualification put her into the final, and her sequence of shoot-off victories took her all the way to a gold-medal duel.

Although the final shot denied Singh the top prize, she left the event with an Asian Games silver medal after one of the longest matches of her career. Xiao won gold for China, Kim completed the podium with bronze for North Korea, and Singh delivered India’s medal from the women’s 25m pistol individual competition.