Esha Singh has won the silver medal for India in the women's 25m pistol individual event at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya ,Japan. What looked like a difficult day for Indian shooting turned into a memorable one for the 21-year-old shooter, who fought through several tense shoot offs before finishing second. China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan won the gold medal, while North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk took Bronze. Esha finished the main final on 38hits,the same score as Xiao,but the Chinese shooter eventually won the gold after another shoot-off. For Esha, the silver is especially important because she had to fight back after barely making the final.

 Esha Just Made It into the final

The road to the medal was not easy. Esha finished the qualification round in eighth place with a score of 580-22x, taking the last available spot in the eight-shooter final. There was almost no room for error because the competition was extremely close. So, Esha entered the final from eight place, while India had only one shooter left in the individual medal fight.

India also missed the team medal

Before Esha's individual final, there had already been disappointment for the Indian team.Esha,Manu Bhakerand Rahi Sarnobat competed in the women's 25m pistol team event. India was in a strong position after the precision stage and was just one point behind China. That made Esha's individual finals even more important for India.

 The Final Was A Roller-Coaster

Esha started the finals with perfect 5/5 in her opening series and immediately moved into the lead .She then added four hits in the next series and at one point fell outside the medal positions. It could have been the end of the story. Instead , Esha produced a perfect 5/5 when she needed it the most. That brought her back into the the top three and kept her medal hopes alive.

Three Shoot-Offs Against Kim Hyon Suk

The final then became a battle of nerves. Esha and Kim were tied on *34 hits*, forcing a shoot-off for the medal positions. The first shoot-off did not separate them. Both shooters scored three hits. Another shoot-off followed. The tension increased when a technical stoppage interrupted the competition. After the action resumed, Esha and Kim were still fighting for the same medal position. Esha eventually got the better of the North Korean shooter, winning the crucial shoot-off and moving into the gold-medal fight against Xiao.In total, Esha went through *three shoot-offs against Kim Hyon Suk* before securing her place in the top two.

Esha and Xiao Were Level on 38

The gold-medal contest was just as close. Esha and Xiao both reached 38hits after the final series. With neither shooter ahead, another shoot-off was needed to decide the gold. The first gold-medal shoot off still did not settle it.Both Esha and Xiao scored four hits. That meant they had to go again. In the next shoot-off,Xiao scored three hits ,while Esha managed two. That one-hit difference decided the gold medal.Xiao Jiaruixuan won gold and Esha Singh finished with silver. It was a particularly close finish because Esha had been only one successful shot away from taking the title.

 A Medal After Difficult Start

The most interesting part of Esha's Asian Games story is perhaps how different the beginning and ending of the events were. She entered the final as the eighth and last qualifier. India had already missed out on a team medal, and Manu Bhaker had failed to make the individual final. Esha then had to survive one difficult series after another. She fought her way back into the medal positions, went through three shoot-offs against Kim Hyon Suk, and then pushed Xiao Jiaruixuan all the way to another two shoot offs for gold. In the end ,the Chinese shooter took the title, but Esha walked away with another Asian Games silver. For India, it was another shooting medal. For Esha, it was another individual Asian Games podium finish in the same event where she had already won silver three years earlier.