Esha shoots gold, bronze for Samrat at Asian c’ship

Olympian Esha Singh produced a composed and clinical performance to claim the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol at the Asian Shooting Championship 2026 on Wednesday, while reigning world champion Samrat Rana secured bronze in the men’s event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

India also struck gold in the women’s team event and picked up silver in the men’s team competition, taking the hosts’ overall tally to four medals — two gold, one silver and one bronze on the opening day of pistol finals.

Advertisement

Esha, the Asian Games silver medallist and Paris 2024 Olympian, showed remarkable composure in a high-quality final to finish on 239.8 points, sealing her second individual gold medal at the Asian Shooting Championships. The 21-year-old had also topped the podium in the same event at the 2024 edition of the championships.

Cheng Yen-Ching of Chinese Taipei claimed silver with 235.4, while her teammate Yu Ai-Wen won bronze after finishing on 217.7.

World No. 2 Suruchi Inder Singh remained in medal contention for much of the final before finishing fourth with 197.7, while twin-Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker finished seventh after an early dip halted her progress. Bhaker is also set to compete in the 25m pistol and the 10m air pistol mixed team events.

Earlier, Suruchi (576), Manu (575) and Esha (575) combined for a total of 1726 to deliver gold for India in the women’s team event. Sainyam, who topped the qualification round with 584, was competing under Ranking Points Only (RPO).

Samrat takes bronze

In the men’s 10m air pistol final, Samrat Rana finished on the podium with a bronze medal, scoring 220.3 points. The world champion opened with 49.6 in the first competition stage and stayed in medal contention through the middle phase with a series of high-value shots, including 10.6s, 10.8s and 10.3s.

Rana maintained his edge over compatriot Sharvan Kumar, who exited in fourth place with 198.6.

Vladimir Svechnikov of Uzbekistan clinched gold with 242.0, while Kazakhstan’s Valeriy Rakhimzhan took silver with 241.0.

In qualification, Rana (581), Sharvan (578) and world No. 2 Varun Tomar (573) combined for 1732, earning silver for India in the men’s team event.

Organised by the Asian Shooting Confederation, the New Delhi championship features rifle and pistol competitions and runs until February 13, with 311 shooters from 20 countries in action.