Indian shooter grabs silver following tense Asian Games tiebreaker
Indian shooter Esha Singh secured silver in the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. She finished tied at 38 points with Xiao Jiaruixian from China on Monday afternoon. Xiao eventually captured gold following a remarkably tense second shoot-off, leaving the highly competitive Indian athlete in second place.
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Singh started the high-pressure final with perfect precision. She landed five targets straight away to establish an immediate early advantage. She maintained solid momentum with four successful shots in her second series, comfortably keeping her lead after 10 attempts. Standings shifted unexpectedly when she dropped to second place following a lower three-hit series, which allowed Xiao to overtake her with 13 points. Singh fought back determinedly with four hits, matching Xiao at 16 points after exactly 20 shots.
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North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk soon entered the top group alongside Singh and Xiao. All three elite competitors tied at 20 points after 25 shots. Competitive shooting continues to deliver crucial medals for India at major international multi-sport events, reflecting strong development programs within the nation. Singh temporarily slipped to third position but quickly recovered with a flawless five-hit series to stay in contention.
With Xiao and Kim locked at 32 points and Singh very close behind at 31, multiple tiebreakers became necessary. Singh ultimately defeated Kim in a direct shoot-off to guarantee at least silver, while Kim took home bronze with 34 overall points. Moving into the final duel, Singh and Xiao both remained tied at 38 points. They required two separate five-shot contests to separate them. Xiao narrowly edged out Singh by hitting three targets to two in the deciding round. This valuable silver pushes the Indian medal count to 39 at these current games, comprising four golds, 17 silvers, and 18 bronze finishes.
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With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI
