New Delhi, Nov 14 (NationPress) Former Asian, Mixed Team and Junior World champion Esha Singh has added another remarkable achievement to her illustrious career by earning her first individual world championship medal, securing a bronze in the women’s 25m Pistol Olympic event at the Olympic Shooting Range in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday. The Indian shooter scored 30 in the final round, finishing behind the in-form Chinese athlete Yao Qianxun (silver, score: 38) and Korea’s reigning Olympic Champion Yang Jiin (gold, score: 40).

Esha’s impressive performance contributed to India’s overall success at the ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol, Cairo 2025, where they concluded their participation in 10 Olympic events with a historic medal tally of one gold, four silver, and two bronze medals. India currently ranks third in the overall standings, with a total of three gold, five silver, and four bronze medals, trailing behind leaders China with 10 gold and Korea, who holds six gold medals.

Starting the day in the fourth and seventh positions, both Esha and double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker executed confident, rapid-fire rounds to qualify for the top eight, with scores of 587 and 586 respectively. Esha secured the fifth qualifying spot while Manu placed sixth among 86 competitors.

Yang topped the qualifications with a score of 591, achieving a remarkable 300/300 in the rapid round.

Other competitors, including mixed team silver medallist from Paris, Sevval Tarhan of Turkey, experienced Iranian athlete Haniyeh Rostamiyan, and former European and junior world champion from France, Lamolle Mathilde, also advanced to the finals. An unknown North Korean athlete, Kim Hyon Suk, completed the final eight.

Despite the strong efforts from the Indian trio, Rahi Sarnobat’s score of 572 was insufficient for the team to clinch a medal, finishing fourth with a cumulative total of 1745, falling three points short of the bronze-winning French team.

Yang set the pace with a perfect start in the 10-series final, which consisted of five rapid-fire shots each. Both Indian shooters began with four successful hits, but during the first elimination round after the fourth series, Esha stood third while Manu was tied for fourth, as Sevval was the first to exit.

Yang and Yao distanced themselves from the pack, leading to a thrilling battle for the bronze as Esha, Manu, and Lamolle were tied at 23 hits each after the seventh series. This resulted in Manu’s elimination as she managed only two hits, while Esha and Lamolle achieved perfect scores.

Lamolle shot three hits while Esha secured four, confirming her medal before bowing out after the ninth series, as Yang outperformed Yao for the gold medal.

This marks Esha’s third individual ISSF medal of the year, following her gold and silver victories in previous World Cup stages. She is set to make her final international appearance at the ISSF World Cup Finals in Doha this December.

Other Indian athletes competing on this day included:

50m Rifle Prone Men

Chain Singh – 624.7 (14th)

Akhil Sheoran – 624.2 (16th)

Samarvir Singh – 620.0 (36th)

Team – 1868.9 (5th)

50m Rifle Prone Women

Manini Kaushik – 621.8 (12th)

Sift Kaur Samra – 619.8 (20th)

Vidarsa K. Vinod – 618.9 (30th)

Team – 1860.5 (5th)