13-year-old Esha Singh displayed an outstanding show at the 62nd National Shooting Championships as she eclipsed over established names like Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu to clinch 3 gold medals on Thursday.
Esha went on to win in the Women’s, Youth Women’s and Junior Women’s 10m Air Pistol competitions. On her way, she left behind the likes of Heena, Manu and Shweta Singh to produce an all-round performance.
Esha registered a score of 241.0 in the Women’s final to leave behind Youth Olympic games champion Manu who concluded with 238.9. Shweta, who was representing ONGC at the event, finished third on the podium with a score of 217.2.
Manu Bhaker was India’s flag bearer at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games, where she became India’s first women to win a gold. Earlier this year, she had also won the two gold medals at the ISSF World Cup to become the youngest Indian to ever achieve the feat.
Singh had qualified at 7th in the eight-woman finals field with a 573 score in the qualifications. Then, Manu was the topper with a score of 578 and the final had big names like champion shooter Heena, India international Shri Nivetha, and the former junior world champion Yashaswini Singh Deswal among others.
Esha utilized her good form to her advantage with a stellar performance in the Youth Women’s and Junior Women’s events and also got the better of Manu. As a result, she clinched as many as five medals on the day.
How it all started
Esha Singh first got introduced to the sport as an 8-year-old when she met her father’s friend National Trap Shooting medalist Gautam Gianchandani at the Gachibowli range.
She instantly found a connection with the sport of shooting. Her father Sachin Singh, who is also a respected rally driver, set up a makeshift shooting range with an electronic pad for the Telangana based youngster. After excelling here, she was promoted to Gagan Narang-run Guns for Glory Academy. Esha has also been coached by Korean coach Kim Seon-il for over a year.
Just so proud for @OGQ_India to support young 13 year old Esha Singh through the wonderful program #ProjectLeap initiated by @gaGunNarang and @Pawanjsingh and @GunForGlory. No better mentor than Gagan ? https://t.co/FV5RyM4Ie6
— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) November 29, 2018
Elsewhere, Satyendra Singh of Indian Army successfully won the Men’s 50 m Rifle 3 Positions title getting ahead of Sanjeev Rajput of Haryana. Satyendra registered a score of 454.1 in the finals in comparison to Sanjeev’s 452.5 shot. Parul Kumar of Indian Air Force came in third with a shot of 442.4 to win the bronze medal.
