Esha Singh Wins Silver After Thrilling Shoot-Offs in 25m Pistol at Asian Games

World No. 1 shooter finishes second after dramatic battle with China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan, adding a third Asian Games silver to her medal tally

Aichi-Nagoya, Sept 2026 : India’s Esha Singh produced a remarkable fightback under intense pressure to win the silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday, surviving a series of dramatic shoot-offs before finishing second behind China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan.

The 20-year-old Indian entered the final only after narrowly making the top eight, qualifying in eighth place with a score of 580-22x. She was tied on points with Chinese Taipei’s Yen-Ching Cheng but secured the final berth on countback, having recorded more bullseyes.

Esha quickly put her qualification position behind her once the medal round began. She opened with a perfect five hits from five shots and remained firmly in contention as the final progressed.

China’s Xiao also made a strong start, while North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk stayed within striking distance. The contest remained closely fought, with Esha and Xiao separated by narrow margins through several stages.

Esha’s scores across the final included 5, 4 and 3 in her opening three series, followed by 4, 4, 3, 3, 5, 3 and 4. After 25 shots, Esha and Xiao were tied on 20 hits, with Kim also involved in the fight for the top positions.

The Indian briefly slipped down the standings during the elimination phase but responded with a perfect five-hit series to remain in medal contention. When Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh was eliminated, Esha was assured of a podium finish.

The fight for the remaining medal positions then turned into an extraordinary contest between Esha and Kim. The two shooters were tied on 34 hits, forcing a shoot-off. Both initially registered three hits, sending the battle into another shoot-off. After another tense exchange, Esha eventually prevailed over the Korean shooter to move into the gold-medal contest against Xiao.

The final showdown was equally dramatic. Xiao and Esha remained locked in a close battle before the Indian produced four hits to force another shoot-off. Both shooters again managed four hits, meaning the gold medal would be decided in another five-shot contest.

Under maximum pressure, Xiao held her nerve and produced three hits, while Esha managed two. The Chinese shooter therefore claimed gold, leaving Esha with silver.

Both finished the regular final and first shoot-off on 38 hits, with the score matching the Games Record set by China’s Liu Rui at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

The silver is Esha’s third Asian Games medal and her third silver. She had previously won silver in the women’s 10m air pistol individual and team events at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

The result also adds to an impressive 2026 season for Esha. She has established herself among the leading 25m pistol shooters globally and earlier this year broke the world record in the event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich. She subsequently won gold in the 25m pistol at the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou in July.

Esha’s individual success came after a disappointing morning for India in the team event. The Indian trio of Esha, double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat finished fifth with a combined score of 1727-56x. China won team gold with 1743-68x, followed by South Korea with 1735-65x and Chinese Taipei with 1734-48x.

Only Esha advanced to the individual final. Bhaker finished 11th in qualification with 579-18x, while Sarnobat was 30th with 568-16x.

For Esha, however, the individual event provided a dramatic turnaround. After entering the final on the edge of elimination, she battled through multiple shoot-offs and came within one decisive round of winning gold, eventually settling for a hard-earned silver and another major medal for India at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.