Indian shooter Esha Singh clinched her maiden World Cup gold in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol 2025, ending India’s medal drought in the tournament.
The 20-year-old Olympian triumphed in a tense final at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre, narrowly defeating China’s Yao Qianxun by just 0.1 point.
Esha’s final score of 242.6 was enough to hold off Yao’s late surge, while reigning Olympic champion Oh Yejin of South Korea settled for bronze. With this victory, India joined four other nations with a gold medal and moved to fifth place in the overall medal standings. Host China currently leads with two golds, four silvers, and one bronze.
Esha and teammate Rhythm Sangwan had qualified for the final with identical scores of 578, securing the last two spots. In the final, Esha maintained composure through the elimination rounds, delivering two crucial 10.7s to seal the win.
Speaking after her victory, Esha said, “This is the first event I started with, and to win a World Cup gold in it is very special. We’re training hard for the World Championship in Cairo, and I’m confident the Indian team will shine.”
The match also marked a milestone for Navneet Kaur, who completed 200 international caps, making her India’s second-highest scorer in the tournament.
