India’s drought ends in Ningbo

India’s long wait for a medal at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol finally ended in dramatic fashion on Saturday, when 20-year-old Olympian Esha Singh produced nerves of steel to clinch the women’s 10m air pistol gold in Ningbo, China.

At the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre, Esha held her composure in a tense finale, edging out home favourite Yao Qianxun by the narrowest of margins by just 0.1 point. Reigning Olympic champion Oh Yejin of South Korea had to settle for bronze. The victory marked Esha’s maiden World Cup gold in the event and lifted India to fifth spot in the medal standings, joining four other nations with one gold each. China continues to dominate with two golds, four silvers, and a bronze.

Esha, already a world champion in the mixed team event, said the gold was special. “This is the first event I started with, and winning a World Cup gold here means a lot. Some of my goals are being reached,” she said. Looking ahead, she added that preparations are in full swing for the World Championships in Cairo. “You will see good things from the Indian team,” she promised.

In qualification, both Esha and teammate Rhythm Sangwan scored 578 to make the cut, with Yao topping the round at 584. Palak Gulia, shooting for ranking points, impressed with 586, while Surbhi Rao finished 25th on 568.

In the final, Rhythm started strong and even led after the opening series. By midway, Esha surged ahead, while Rhythm eventually slipped to fifth. The contest came down to the wire as Yao mounted a late charge, but Esha’s precision including two clutch 10.7s sealed the gold with a score of 242.6, a mere 0.1 clear of the Chinese shooter.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol, Bhavesh Shekhawat and Pradeep Singh Shekhawat both shot 575 to finish 22nd and 23rd, while Mandeep Singh placed 39th with 562.

For Esha, however, the spotlight was hers alone, a young champion showing composure beyond her years and delivering India’s breakthrough moment in Ningbo.