India's Esha Singh and Pincky Balhara Win Shooting Silver and Bronze at Asian Games

In the women's 25m pistol individual event after a marathon series of shoot-offs while Kurash athlete Pincky Balhara secured the bronze medal within the women's 78kg category, etching a new chapter onto a career that stretches over a decade.

Table of Contents

1. Esha Singh's Road to the Final

2. Inside the Shoot-Off Drama

3. Full Results: Women's 25m Pistol

4. Pincky Balhara's Bronze in Kurash

5. Pincky Balhara's Journey to This Moment

6. Esha Singh vs. Pincky Balhara: Two Different Paths to the Podium

7. Conclusion

Esha Singh's Road to the Final

Esha Singh experienced one of the toughest pathways to the final, having barely scraped into the eight-shooter final in the last qualifying position with a score of 580 with 22 inner-tens, a number that didn’t quite set records but ensured she had enough to keep her campaign alive. And while she might not have become a favorite leading into the finals of the Asian games, the final was truly a spectacle for her fans. Hitting back from her subpar performance in the qualifying rounds, Esha began her final with consecutive five-on-fives creating a perfect run but had to remain patient and focused as her positions swung and other shooters continued to eliminate around her one by one. And by the final round that marked 50 shots, both Esha and China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan found themselves tied at the 38-point mark, a record-total score for the Asian Games in the shooting category event.

Inside the Shoot-Off Drama

With a tie in their scores, Esha had to contest against North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk in a battle for the final podium spot, where both shooters battled for three rounds with Esha pulling ahead to eliminate Kim and securing her place in the finals in a straight shoot-off against Xiao in contention for the gold medal. Within the first round, Both Esha and Xiao managed to hit four of the five targets which extended the gold shoot-out into a second round. Esha then succumbed to defeat as Xiao edged past Esha with three hits to two, a small margin that was unfortunately enough to leave Esha one hit shy away from clenching the top spot. While reflecting on her experience following the defeat, Esha maintained her grace and focused on enjoying the whole experience and using it as a learning opportunity to handle pressure instead of solely focusing on the outcome. Notably, the silver medal also marked the second consecutive Asian Games silver for the 21-year-old in the women's 25m pistol individual event, a testament to consistency in her performance despite being unable to clinch the gold medal so far.

Full Results: Women's 25m Pistol

Esha was also part of the team event in the pistol shooting category, combining with Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat to secure a total of 1727-56x that placed them in the fifth position behind gold medalists China (1743-68x), silver medalists South Korea, and bronze medalists Chinese Taipei.

Pincky Balhara's Bronze in Kurash

Away from the fireworks and glory of the shooting range, Pincky Balhara’s campaign on the Kurash mat spoke of a subtle yet meaningful story of its own. Dominating the quarterfinal against South Korea's Lim Garam with a commanding 3-0 win, Pincky moved ahead of her opponent in a decisive scoring throw that’s commonly known as a “chala” while also marking her spot in the semifinal against Mo Sumin of South Korea, the reigning 2026 Asian Championships gold medalist. The semi-final match brought a major challenge for Pincky who trailed for most of the bout, received an early morning and eventually lost a 0-5 defeat following being penalised with a “dakki”, a technical infringement in Kurash. While the defeat marked lessons for Pincky to learn, it guaranteed a bronze medal for her mammoth of an effort.

Pincky Balhara's Journey to This Moment

Balhara has consistently remained as a major name across the history of Indian combat sports over the years. Pincky had originally began her combat sport training journey as a Judoka but only switched to Kurash after having missed out of the Indian Jude Squad following selection trials. Having debuted at the international level at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Pincky secured a silver medal in the 52kg Kurash category which quickly marked a turnaround for her professional career as well. Today, Balhara competes within the heavier 78-kg category and her Bronze medal marks the second Asian Game Medal in the sport while also becoming the third medal that India has won till date within this discipline.

Esha Singh vs. Pincky Balhara: Two Different Paths to the Podium

Conclusion

While headlines would continue to focus on the specific numbers of the result sheet, the matches and competition that Esha and Pincky faced and rose against is a testament to their skills and abilities. With Esha Singh’s silver medal being earned after three rigorous shoot-offs that tested her skills before a final that nearly brought her ultimate success and Pincky’s bronze being built on the tedious and slow effort that tested her perseverance in a sport she never planned to compete in. The two athletes might have secured glory in different sports while undergoing different routes to the podiums, but have collectively added onto India’s glory across these events as well as at the global stages and with their consistent performance, there’s truly a lot to look out for in the future!