MUNICH, May 28: Asian champion Esha Singh delivered a standout performance at the ISSF World Cup 2026 here in Germany, clinching the women’s 25m pistol gold medal with a world record score.
In a high-quality eight-shooter field featuring reigning Olympic champion Yang Ji-in, Esha held her nerve through the elimination stages before finishing with a 43/50 in the final on Wednesday.
The score stands as both the senior and junior world record. It was India’s first individual
shooting medal of the ISSF World Cup season across rifle, pistol and shotgun events,
according to olympics.com.
The gold medal also earned the 21-year-old Indian shooter a direct qualification spot for the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final, scheduled to be held in Rome, Italy, in December.
Former world champion and European Games gold medallist Doreen Vennekamp of Germany settled for silver with 38/50, while Bulgaria’s Miroslava Mincheva claimed bronze with 31/45.
Paris 2024 gold medallist Yang Ji-in, who had topped qualification with a score of 592-28x, bowed out in fifth place in the final after missing 13 of her 35 shots.
Esha Singh, an Asian Games silver medallist and a Paris 2024 Olympian, had qualified fifth with
a score of 587-19x, registering 293 in precision and 294 in rapid fire.
Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker, meanwhile, missed out on the final after finishing 12th in qualification with 582-19x. Manu shot 288 in precision and 294 in rapid fire.
Rahi Sarnobat, 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the same shooting discipline, also fell short of the cut after placing 14th with 581-23x.
India’s Arshdeep Kaur and Tejaswani competed under ranking points only (RPO) status and finished 44th and 51st, respectively.
Overall, this was India’s third medal across rifle, pistol and shotgun World Cup events this season.
At the rifle/pistol World Cup in Granada, Spain, Mukesh Nelavalli and Palak Gulia had won gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
In shotgun, Vivaan Kapoor and Neeru Dhanda claimed bronze in the mixed team trap event in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Earlier this year, Esha Singh had also won the individual 10m air pistol gold medal at the Asian Shooting Championships.
She will next compete in the women’s 10m air pistol event later in Munich, along with Manu Bhaker. (PTI)
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