New Delhi: Olympian Esha Singh carried her excellent form from last year into the new season, clinching the women’s individual 10m air pistol gold and helping the home team to another top-podium finish, even as world champion Samrat Rana settled for bronze on the opening day of the Asian Championship (pistol-rifle) Wednesday.
Esha, 21, came from behind to score 239.8 in the final, fending off challenges from two Chinese Taipei shooters — Cheng Yen-Ching (235.4, silver) and Yu Ai-Wen (217.7, bronze) — as well as compatriot Suruchi Singh, to claim her second individual senior Asian Championship gold.
The shooter, who had earlier secured the season-ending ISSF World Cup gold in Ningbo, China last year, had won her first continental title in Jakarta in 2024 at the age of 19.
Suruchi, 19, who led the final after the first 10-shot stage, slipped dramatically in the elimination round to finish fourth, while Manu Bhaker, a double bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics and the third Indian to reach the eight-shooter final, ended up in seventh place.
In a competition that didn’t rise to great levels, with all the shooters’ scores swaying between the highs of upper 10s and the lows of 8s, it was Esha who kept her cool with three scores of 10.4 and above to take a big leap for gold, while the two Chinese Taipei shooters fell back sharply, with some of their scores in the 9s and 8s.
In the qualification round, Suruchi finished second with a score of 576, while Manu and Esha both ended on 575. Manu edged ahead of Esha for qualification based on a higher ‘inner 10’ count, with all three advancing to the final.
The trio of Suruchi (576), Manu (575), and Esha (575) went on to win the team gold with a combined total of 1,726, comfortably ahead of Vietnam (1,713) and Chinese Taipei (1,711), who claimed the silver and bronze, respectively.
Samrat settles for bronze
Samrat, who was the standout performer at last year’s World Championships in Cairo — where the Karnal shooter showed nerves of steel to win gold — raised hopes of another top-podium finish in the season opener.
He seemed set to carry his form into the new season after shooting 581 in the qualification round, which placed him second going into the final.
But, in the medal round, the 21-year-old shot 220.3 to finish behind Vladimir Svechnikov of Uzbekistan (242.0, gold) and Kazakhstan’s Valeriy Rakhimzhan (241.0, silver).
The other Indian to make it to the eight-shooter final, Sharvan Kumar, came in fourth.
India claimed the team silver in the event, with Samrat (581), Shravan (578), and world championships bronze medallist Varun Tomar (573) combining for a total of 1,732 points.
Uzbekistan won the gold with an identical aggregate of 1,732, but edged out India with a superior ‘inner 10′ score of 58 compared to the hosts’ 52. Kazakhstan finished a close third with 1,731 points.
India has entered the largest squad of 118 shooters, with Kazakhstan fielding the second biggest contingent of 35 athletes.
Regional powerhouses South Korea and Japan have also fielded strong squads, and shooters from Chinese Taipei, Vietnam and Hong Kong are also expected to put up good performances.
Other Results
Men’s 10m air pistol (Junior) 1. Gavin Antony (Ind, 240.9), Imandos Bektenov (Kgz, 236.7), Maruf Aulia (Ina, 215.6).
Team 1. India 1735 points, 2. Kazakhstan 1680.
