NEW DELHI: Last month, Esha Singh won her first senior World Cup gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol, edging out her competitor by just 0.1 point, the smallest possible winning margin in her sport. However, shooting wasn’t her first love. Young and curious, she tried her hand at go-karting, tennis, and even skating, drawn to the thrill of competition more than the sport itself. The feeling changed when she picked up a pistol. “I found it very unique, very different from all the other games. People not knowing much about it felt rare and special to me. Shooting looked simple from the outside, but once I tried it, I realised it was 90% mental,” Esha told TimesofIndia.com during a free-wheeling chat.
In shooting, physical exertion takes a back seat, and it’s the mental toll that’s really demanding.Recalling a moment from the past when she was starting out, the 20-year-old said, “I honestly did not think I would be here for so long. I took it up as a hobby. I never thought I’d get into it seriously and make it a profession. But because I took it up as a hobby, I think when I won the gold in the first-ever competition I played, which was a state match, that gave me the feeling that I’m good at this. I’m really good at this. This is my game. So, I started pursuing it.”But the initial motivation to win involved a playful bet between father and daughter. “My dad kept a prize for me. He said that if I won gold, there were these sunglasses that I really liked. And he said, ‘If I get it, he’ll gift it to me.’ That also drove me,” she recalled. “I was working hard. I gradually started enjoying my game. I didn’t really care about the gifts anymore. That wasn’t my purpose of playing.”
Esha Singh (Special Arrangement)
Years later, on September 13, 2025, at the ISSF World Cup, she beat China’s Qianxun Yao in the women’s 10m air pistol by just a 0.1-point margin: “Winning the gold by 0.1 proved that the medal was truly mine. I kept fighting till the last shot, and I’m proud of that.“In shooting, the battle is within you, not with your opponents. It’s my pistol, my hand — it’s all on me. I don’t have any rivalry with anyone. In sports, ego clashes don’t make you win — your game does.”Her brilliance in the sport also stands out in the way she trains. She shared that she often likes practising in the rain, and it is, as it sounds, incredibly tough.“Shooting in the rain is very hard — the light gets low, visibility is poor. But I like that challenge. Somehow, I train better in the rain,” she added.
Esha Singh in the middle (Special Arrangement)
Following in her father Sachin’s footsteps, who was a rally racer, Esha doesn’t dismiss the possibility of pursuing it professionally sometime in future. “Rally is too tough. I prefer track races like Formula One or NASCAR. I haven’t planned it all out, but I do follow the sport closely with my dad. (I will pursue it) maybe even professionally after shooting,” said the shooter.From training in the rain to a career kick-started through a promise of a pair of sunglasses, furthered by early success, Esha Singh adds to the brilliant talent pool for India in a sport that has taken shape as the centrepiece. At just 20, her best, most certainly, is yet to come.
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