India's Esha Singh wins Munich World Cup gold with 25m pistol world record

India’s Esha Singh produced one of the finest performances of her young shooting career after clinching gold in the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich with a stunning world record score. The 21-year-old Asian champion finished with 43 hits out of 50 in the final, setting a new world record at both senior and junior level.

Competing in a stacked final that included reigning Olympic champion Yang Ji-in, Esha held her nerve brilliantly through the elimination stages before pulling away from the field with remarkable consistency.

Her gold also marked India’s first individual shooting medal of the ISSF World Cup season across rifle, pistol and shotgun events.

Esha’s dominant display in Munich also secured her direct qualification for the ISSF World Cup Final, scheduled to be held in Rome later this year.

Former world champion Doreen Vennekamp settled for silver with 38 hits, while Bulgaria’s Miroslava Mincheva took bronze after finishing with 31.

Even business tycoon Anand Mahindra was left impressed by the Indian shooter’s achievement and praised Esha after her historic performance in Germany.

ESHA SINGH BREAKS WORLD RECORD IN FINAL

Esha entered the final after finishing fifth in qualification with an aggregate score of 587-19x, registering 293 in precision and 294 in rapid fire.

But once the medal round began, the Indian shooter looked completely locked in.

She opened the final with three successive perfect series and immediately created separation from the rest of the field. While several experienced names struggled with consistency under pressure, Esha kept landing clean hits through the elimination stages.

Her score of 43 eventually became the new world record in women’s 25m pistol at both junior and senior level.

The quality of the field made the achievement even more impressive.

Paris Olympics gold medallist Yang Ji-in had topped qualification with a massive 592-28x but could not maintain the same rhythm in the final and eventually finished fifth after missing 13 of her 35 shots.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Doreen Vennekamp, backed by the home crowd in Munich, tried to stay close to Esha during the latter stages of the final but eventually finished five hits behind the Indian shooter.

INDIA’S SHOOTING SEASON PICKS UP MOMENTUM

Esha’s gold also continued India’s encouraging run across ISSF World Cup events this season.

Earlier, Mukesh Nelavalli and Palak Gulia had clinched gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the World Cup in Granada, while Vivaan Kapoor and Neeru Dhanda secured bronze in the mixed team trap event in Almaty.

However, Esha’s triumph in Munich became India’s first individual gold medal of the season.

There was disappointment for some of the other Indian shooters in the event. Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on the final after finishing 12th in qualification with 582-19x, while veteran Rahi Sarnobat ended 14th.

Esha will now continue her Munich campaign in the women’s 10m air pistol event alongside Manu Bhaker.

At just 21, the Hyderabad shooter already has Asian Games and World Cup medals to her name. But with a world record now added to the list, Munich could well become one of the defining moments in her rise towards becoming one of India’s biggest shooting stars.