Toyota, Sep 28 (IANS): Young Indian shooter Esha Singh’s father Sachin Singh heaped praise on his daughter for keeping calm in intense situations and winning a silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol event at the Aichi Pref. General Shooting Gallery here on Monday.
Esha won the silver after battling past North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk in the silver-assuring shoot-off that went to a three-shoot-off series after the two were tied in the first two shoot-off series. However, she lost a two-series shoot-off to China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan for the gold medal push.
Not just her opponents, Esha, the twin medallist from the Hangzhou Games, also had to contend with a couple of sudden breaks by the organisers during her shoot-offs, which generally breaks the momentum of the athletes. However, it wasn’t the case with Esha, who won an impressive silver after the women’s team bottled up a medal in the 25m pistol team event.
“Basically, if you stop the match with the wrong command, both the athletes, the Chinese Taipei and Isha, both lose their rhythm,” Esha’s father, Sachin told IANS after his daughter’s silver.
“It’s like someone’s weapon got damaged in the past Olympics. So, the mind gets boggled. So, coming back into the zone and shooting is a very difficult task. Their command was wrong, and then they forgot to switch off the lights. So, this thing disturbs the athlete a lot.
“So, I think it’s not silver; it’s double gold for Esha. The way she has taken up all the things and come back and fought with the Chinese counterpart. So, I will grade this silver medal as her gold medal. There is no doubt about it. Absolutely no doubt,” he added.
Esha has won several medals after the Hangzhou Games. She clinched a team silver and a mixed silver at the 2025 World Championships, while the 21-year-old also won an individual gold in the 2025 World Cup and a silver at the 2026 World Cup.
As she gears up for the Olympic Games, her father called this medal a big boost for her. “It’s a very important medal. From the past 18 months, she has got out all the golds and silvers, (became) world champion, (became) world record holder, (became) world number one.
“So, a 21-year-old girl coming out with such a big baggage before Olympic Games, which isn’t one of the biggest event. It’s a very big baggage which she was carrying on her shoulders. And in the air pistol, you could see the way she was literally trying to hold off what she was naturally supposed to shoot. So, yeah, this is a great boost for Esha,” he said.
