Esha Singh bags three medals in National Shooting Championship 

Hyderabad’s 16-year-old international pistol shooter Esha Singh said she will have ample time in 2022 to further improve her shooting skills as there won't be any pressure academically.

“Next year there won’t be any pressure academically as I'm in class 11. Since there are no Board exams, I will have enough time to polish my shooting skills as my school (Reqelford International School) is very accommodating,” she said.

Esha on Saturday won three medals, including gold in the 10m air pistol junior and youth categories, at the 64th National Shooting Championship at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.

After leading the field with 582 points in the qualification round at the senior level, the Hyderabad shooter won bronze with 215.4 points in the 24-shot final match. Tamil Nadu’s Shri Nivetha P took silver with a score of 239.9 points, while Olympian Manu Bhaker bagged gold with 241.6 points.

"Sometimes it takes time for me to adjust to the environment of the final ranges. The lights are different from where the qualification round took place,” Esha explained. “I was better off in the next two matches. I did manage to pick up momentum to win titles in junior and youth women’s categories to finish the day with three medals.”

Winning bronze in a competitive field at the senior level was a good learning experience, Esha’s father Sachin Singh said.

“That minor adjustment is crucial in winning and losing a match. Certainly, she (Esha) could have done better in the senior group, but it is all about learning and moving forward,” Sachin added.

In the junior category, Esha shot 240.7 points to win gold, while Devanshi Dhama of Uttar Pradesh scored 237.9 points to take silver. Tejaswani of Haryana shot 218 for bronze. Manu finished fifth in the junior group.

Esha won gold in the youth category with 240.3 points. Tejaswani took silver, while Devanshi bagged bronze.

Esha’s next stop will be national selection trials in January. Her focus in the coming weeks will be to fine tune the technical aspect of the final match (24-shot), according to her father.

“Emphasis on technical aspect, particularly the final (24-shot) will certainly be one of the key factors of her future training program," Sachin said.