Hyderabad: Who is Esha Singh? The 21-year-old Hyderabad shooter has emerged as one of India’s brightest shooting stars after defeating Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker to win the women’s 25m pistol gold medal at the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) Monday in China’s Honzou.
Born January 1, 2005, to Sachin Singh and Srilatha in Hyderabad, Esha did not begin her sporting journey on the shooting range. Before discovering shooting, she tried go-karting, badminton, tennis and skating. A visit to the shooting range at Gachibowli Athletic Stadium changed her path, inspiring her to take up the air pistol event.
Her father, a rally driver, played a key role in nurturing her talent by building a paper practice range at home, allowing her to train outside regular sessions. Esha later joined former Olympic medallist Gagan Narang’s Gun for Glory Academy in Pune to further develop her skills.
Esha began shooting in 2014 and quickly established herself as a prodigy. In 2015, she became the Telangana state champion in the 10m air pistol event. Three years later, at just 13, she stunned Indian shooting by defeating Commonwealth Games and Youth Olympics gold medallist Manu Bhaker and multiple medallist Heena Sidhu to win the 10m air pistol gold at the 62nd National Shooting Championships, becoming the youngest senior national champion. She also claimed gold medals in the youth and junior categories.
Her rise continued with the under-17 gold medal at the 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, a silver medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, two gold medals at the Asian Junior Championships, a junior gold at the Asian Airgun Championships in Taoyuan and individual and mixed team junior gold medals at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha.
Although she was selected for India’s core training group for the Tokyo Olympics, she narrowly missed qualifying for the Games.
Esha Singh returned stronger. At the 2022 Asian Games, she won four medals, including the women’s 25m pistol team gold and an individual silver in the same event. She also became the junior world champion in the 25m pistol event at the 2022 ISSF World Shooting Championships in Cairo.
She earned an Olympic quota in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Qualifier in Jakarta before representing India in the women’s 25m pistol event at the Paris Olympics, where she finished 18th in qualification.
Earlier this year, Esha won the women’s 10m air pistol gold at the Asian Shooting Championships and also helped India secure the team gold alongside Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Singh.
She added another milestone earlier this season at the ISSF World Cup in Munich by setting both the senior and junior world records with 43 hits in the women’s 25m pistol final.
On Monday, Esha added another landmark achievement by defeating Paris 2024 double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker to win the women’s 25m pistol title in Hangzhou.
Esha produced a commanding display in the final, registering 40 hits to clinch the gold medal. Manu fought through a tense, highly competitive field, winning a crucial shoot-off before finishing with 28 hits to secure the bronze as India completed a double podium finish.
The Indian shooters had dominated qualification, with Manu topping the standings on 586-20x and Esha finishing second on 585-18x to advance comfortably to the eight-shooter final.
Reflecting on the victory, Esha said the biggest challenge was overcoming the expectations created by her recent success.
“This match was very pressure-riding for me because of the previous medal I had. The better you get in your event, the more you feel that weight of prestige you have to conquer. I’m happy that I was able to get past it today and grateful that I had the ability to endure it.”
Esha Singh also credited her familiarity with the Hangzhou range, where she won four medals during the Asian Games.
“I really love competing here in Hangzhou. Recalling how the competition went during the Asian Games, where I won four medals, I was really excited to come back. Being familiar with the range, the lighting, and the atmosphere in the final hall definitely counted in my favour.”
PNN & Agencies