India Strike Team Gold in Women's 25m Pistol as Esha and Manu Qualify for Individual Final

India enjoyed a memorable outing in the women's 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Championships in Doha on Tuesday, with Esha Singh leading the country to team gold and securing a place in the individual final alongside double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker.

The 21-year-old Esha delivered an outstanding performance across the two-day qualification round, finishing with 590 points to spearhead India's charge. Her score, combined with Manu's 587 and Divya Subbaraju's 584, helped India accumulate 1,761 points and comfortably clinch the team gold.

South Korea finished second with 1,748 points to take silver, while Vietnam secured bronze with 1,745.

Esha also put herself in contention for an individual medal and a 2028 Los Angeles Olympics quota place, finishing third in the qualification standings to book her place in the eight-shooter final.

Germany's Doreen Vennekamp topped the qualification round with 592 points, equalling the Olympic record, while Hungary's Veronika Major finished second with 591.

Manu Bhaker, meanwhile, recovered from a slow start to finish sixth with 587 points and join Esha in the final. Divya narrowly missed qualification, ending the round in 10th place.

Both Esha and Manu produced impressive performances in Tuesday's Rapid round. Esha, who had scored 292 in Monday's Precision round, bounced back with series of 100, 98 and 100 to register 298 points. Manu also improved significantly, shooting 99, 99 and 100 after scoring 289 in the Precision round.

The individual final carries additional significance, as the three medal winners will secure Olympic quota places for their respective countries. India could therefore add two more quota places if both Esha and Manu finish on the podium.

India have already opened their Olympic qualification account at the championships through Jaypal Malviya, who won silver in the men's 10m air pistol event to become the country's first shooter to secure a Los Angeles Olympics quota place at the competition.