Esha Singh Secures Bronze in Women’s 25m Pistol at ISSF World Championships

Indian shooter Esha Singh was awarded the bronze medal in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Shooting Championships in Cairo on Friday, marking the first individual World Championship medal of her career. The 19-year-old registered 30 hits in the final, finishing behind Korea’s reigning Olympic champion Yang Jiin, who secured gold with 40 hits, and China’s Yao Qianxun, who claimed silver with 38 hits. With this result, India’s campaign in the 10 Olympic events at the championship was completed on schedule, and a historic tally of one gold, four silver and two bronze medals was recorded. In the overall standings, India was placed third with a total haul of three gold, five silver and four bronze medals, behind leaders China, who amassed 10 gold medals, and Korea, who stood second with six gold medals.

Earlier in the day, Esha and Paris Olympics medallist Manu Bhaker entered the final after steady qualifying performances. Esha secured fifth place with a score of 587, while Manu took the sixth spot with 586 in a field of 86 shooters. Yang Jiin topped the qualification with a score of 591, supported by a flawless 300/300 rapid-fire series, underscoring her dominance. The remaining qualifiers included Turkey’s Sevval Tarhan, Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan, France’s former European and junior world champion Lamolle Mathilde, and North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk. However, India narrowly missed a podium finish in the team event as the trio of Esha, Manu and Rahi Sarnobat tallied 1745 points, finishing three points behind France, who claimed bronze.

In the final, Yang established her lead early with a perfect opening series of five hits. Both Indian shooters began with four hits each, and by the first elimination stage after the fourth series, Esha held third place while Manu was tied for fourth, as Sevval Tarhan exited first. Yang and Yao gradually broke away from the field, creating a tight contest for the bronze medal. The decisive moment arrived after the seventh series, when Esha, Manu and Lamolle Mathilde were tied at 23 hits each, prompting a shoot-off. Manu was eliminated after managing only two hits, while Esha and Lamolle posted perfect fives. In the subsequent series, Lamolle scored three hits against Esha’s four, ensuring Esha’s place on the podium. She was eliminated in the ninth series, after securing the bronze, as Yang completed a convincing victory over Yao for the gold.

The medal added to Esha’s strong season, becoming her third individual ISSF medal of 2025, following earlier gold and silver wins at World Cup stages. Her next international appearance is scheduled at the ISSF World Cup Finals in Doha in December, where she will conclude her year’s engagements.