Esha Singh wins silver in women’s 25m pistol at Asian Games; Manu Bhaker misses out

Esha Singh claimed the silver medal in the women’s 25m pistol individual at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya on September 28, 2026, while two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker failed to qualify for the final and left the Games without a medal.

The 21-year-old from Hyderabad, who is the reigning world number one, required five consecutive shoot-offs during the final stages of the event. She prevailed in three shoot-offs to remain in contention and then was involved in two further shoot-offs in the gold-medal match with China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan; the pair were level at 38 after the regulation series, and Esha missed the decisive final shot to take second place.

In qualification, Esha posted a score of 580. Manu Bhaker managed 579 in qualification, finished 11th and did not advance to the final; she had already failed to secure a medal in the women’s 10m air pistol earlier in the competition.

India had also been in contention for a podium finish in the women’s 25m pistol team event before Rahi Sarnobat’s late lapse. Sarnobat recorded a score of 39 in the fourth series (each series comprises five shots), which proved costly and effectively ended India’s hopes of a team medal; she placed 30th with a total of 568.

North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk took the bronze after losing a shoot-off to Esha and finishing with a score of 34. Esha kept India in contention for an individual medal by entering the summit clash at eighth.