Esha Singh grabs silver after dramatic shoot-off defeat
Esha Singh secures silver in a dramatic shoot-off battle against China's Xiao Jiaruixian in the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games.
In a heart-stopping conclusion to the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games, India's Esha Singh secured a silver medal following an intense, multi-stage shoot-off battle. The Indian sharpshooter faced off against China's Xiao Jiaruixian in a contest that pushed both athletes to their absolute limits, ultimately ending in a narrow defeat for Singh.
A rollercoaster final in Aichi-Nagoya
The final in Japan was a masterclass in tension. Esha Singh started the competition with immense confidence, hitting all five targets in her opening series to establish an early lead. She maintained her momentum through the second series with four hits, keeping herself at the top of the leaderboard after the first 10 shots.
However, the momentum shifted mid-way through the event. A dip in performance during her third series saw Singh slip to second place as Xiao Jiaruixian surged ahead with 13 points. Singh showed her resilience by responding with four hits in the following series, leveling the score at 16 points after 20 shots.
The battle for the podium
As the competition intensified, the leaderboard became a moving target. After 25 shots, Singh, Xiao, and North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk were all locked at 20 points. A momentary lapse saw Singh fall to third place, but she staged a remarkable comeback with a crucial five-hit series to stay in medal contention.
The final stages of the regular round saw a fierce three-way struggle:
- Xiao Jiaruixian (China): 32 points
- Kim Hyon Suk (North Korea): 32 points
- Esha Singh (India): 31 points
With the scores so tight, the competition moved into a series of high-stakes shoot-offs to determine the final standings.
Double shoot-off drama
The tension reached a breaking point when the shoot-offs began. First, a battle for the bronze was waged between Singh and Kim Hyon Suk. After two rounds of shoot-offs where both athletes recorded three hits each, Singh managed to edge ahead in the third round by hitting three targets to Kim's two, guaranteeing herself at least a silver medal.
The battle for gold, however, required even more drama. Singh and Xiao were tied at 38 points after the regular final and the first gold-medal shoot-off. This forced a final, deciding five-shot contest. In the ultimate moment of truth, Xiao hit three targets, while Singh managed two, leaving the Indian shooter with a hard-fought silver medal.
India's medal tally grows
Esha Singh's performance adds significant value to India's campaign at the 2026 Asian Games. With this silver, India has now amassed 39 medals in the tournament so far, consisting of:
- 4 Gold medals
- 17 Silver medals
- 18 Bronze medals
While the gold narrowly eluded her, Singh's ability to navigate multiple shoot-offs under immense pressure underscores her status as one of the world's elite pistol shooters.