Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], September 28 (ANI): Following Esha Singh's silver medal win at the ongoing Asian Games, her father, Sachin Singh, hailed his daughter's achievement, calling it a 'double gold medal' in recognition of the hard-fought battle she had to overcome to secure the podium finish.

Esha won the silver medal in the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday after a dramatic series of shoot-offs against China's Xiao Jiaruixian. Esha Singh finished with 38 points, level with Xiao, who eventually won the gold medal after the second shoot-off. North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk claimed the bronze with 34 points. 

Speaking after the match to ANI, Esha's father said, 'I feel that for Esha, this is not just a silver; it's like a double gold for her. Playing five shoot-offs, shooting 25 extra shots in a match, and playing back-to-back in the same match is really, really a great effort from a 21-year-old kid. It was a fantastic effort from her.'

He also thanked the Sports Authority of India, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for their 'great support and teamwork'. Reflecting on the shooters' up-and-down campaign at the Asian Games, which has seen plenty of downs for pistol shooters in particular despite an overall total of 12 medals, Sachin said that everyone comes here to win. 

'You can see these results coming from the shooters. Obviously, there are ups and downs; some have done well, and some have not done as well, but everybody comes here to win,' he said. 

Speaking about some key moments of the match, Sachin said, 'See, basically, there were two wrong commands given. First, they stopped the game on the fourth shot. Then, after loading the ammo again and shooting the second one, they forgot to turn on the light. This kind of disturbance pulls a shooter out of their zone. So, it is a difficult task for a shooter to come back, get into the zone again, and try to recover in those five shots to fight for the next match. This is definitely something that needs to be addressed, and I am sure our international body will look into this.'

Esha began the final strongly, hitting all five targets in the opening series to take the early lead. She followed it with four hits in the second series to remain at the top after 10 shots.

The Indian shooter then dropped to second after a three-hit series, as Xiao moved into the lead with 13 points. Esha responded with four hits in the next series to move level with Xiao at 16 points after 20 shots.

Esha and Xiao remained tied on 20 points after 25 shots, with Kim also joining them at the top. However, Esha slipped to third after the next series before producing a crucial five-hit series to ensure herself a medal.

With Xiao and Kim tied on 32 points and Esha on 31 after 40 shots, the Indian shooter needed another strong finish. Esha and Kim eventually went into a shoot-off to decide the silver and bronze medals.

Both shooters recorded three hits in the first two shoot-off series, before Esha prevailed in the next round with three hits against Kim's two, securing at least a silver medal.

Esha then faced Xiao in the gold-medal shoot-off. Both shooters finished with 38 points after the regular final and the first shoot-off, forcing another five-shot contest.

Xiao eventually prevailed by the narrowest of margins, hitting three targets compared to Esha's two in the deciding shoot-off, leaving the Indian with the silver medal.  

This marks India's 39th medal at the ongoing Asian Games, having won four golds, 17 silvers and 18 bronze medals so far. (ANI)