Esha Singh
Personal information
National teamIndia
Born (2005-01-01) 1 January 2005 (age 19)
Hyderabad
Years active2014 - present
Sport
SportShooting
Event10m Air Pistol
Medal record
Representing  India
Women's shooting
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Baku 10 m air pistol mixed team
Gold medal – first place 2023 Baku 25 m pistol team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou 25m pistol team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou 25m pistol
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou 10m air pistol
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou 10 m air pistol team
ISSF Junior World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cairo 25 m pistol
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cairo 10 m air pistol team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Cairo 10 m air pistol mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2021 Lima 10 m air pistol
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Cairo 25 m pistol team

Esha Singh (born 1 January 2005) is an Indian amateur shooter, supported by OGQ.[1] She became the national champion in the 10m Air Pistol category in 2018. She clinched an Olympic quota berth in the 10m Air Pistol category for the Paris Olympic Games at the Asian Qualifier at Jakarta on 8 January 2024.[2] She was also conferred the Arjun Award for 2023 but missed the event on 9 January 2024 due to the Asian qualifier.[3][4]

Personal life and background

Esha Singh was born to Sachin Singh and Srilatha on 1 January 2005 in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Her father was a rally driver. Before she took up shooting, Singh tried go-karting, badminton, tennis and skating. A visit to the shooting range at Gachibowli Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad motivated her to choose air pistol. She trained at the stadium and simultaneously at her home, in the paper practice range built by her father. She later joined the Gun for Glory academy by former Olympic medallist Gagan Narang in Pune, Maharashtra.[5]

Professional career

Domestic

Singh began shooting in 2014 and in 2015, she became the Telangana state champion in 10m air pistol category. She then defeated the Commonwealth Games and Youth Olympics gold-medalist Manu Bhaker and multi-medalist Heena Sidhu in 62nd National Shooting Championships at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala by winning gold in 10m Air Pistol event becoming the youngest champion in the senior category as a 13-year-old. She also won gold medals in youth and junior categories.[5][6][7] At the second edition of Khelo India Youth Games in January 2019, Singh won gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol event in the under-17 category.

International

Singh won silver medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup at Suhl, Germany in 2019 and two gold medals at the Asian Junior championships in 10m Air Pistol Women (AP60W) and 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team (APMIX).[8] Besides 10m Air Pistol, she also competes in 25m Standard Pistol and 25m Pistol events. She won the Gold medal in the 25m Pistol team event for India and an individual silver medal in the 25m Pistol event at the Asian Games 2022 held at Gangzhou, China.[9]

Earlier, Singh won gold at the Asian Airgun Championships in Taoyuan, Taiwan in March–April, 2019 in the junior category of 10m Air Pistol event.[10] In 25m Standard Pistol and 25m Pistol events her ranking was 22 and 41 respectively. In November 2019, Singh went on to win individual and mixed team gold medals at Asian Shooting Championship in Doha, Qatar in 10m Air Pistol (Junior) event.[1]

Singh was also selected for India's core training team for the Tokyo Olympics,[11] but failed to finish among the top two to qualify for the Olympics in the qualification event held in February 2020. Postponement of Tokyo Olympics gave her a chance to qualify.[11]

Awards

She was conferred the Arjuna Award for 2023.[4] In 2020, she received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, a civilian award bestowed upon achievers under the age of 18.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Esha Singh - ISSF". International Shooting Sport Federation. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Varun Tomar, Esha Singh win 10m air pistol quota for Paris Olympics". The Times of India. 9 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ "National Sports Awards 2023: Shami, Sheetal Devi receive Arjuna Award; Chirag, Satwiksairaj get Khel Ratna — Check Full List, Prize money". Zee Business. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "National Sports Awards 2023: Mohammed Shami, para-archer Sheetal Devi receive Arjuna awards - WATCH". The Times of India. 9 January 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b "In a battle of teens, 13-year-old Esha Singh upstages Manu Bhaker at Shooting Nationals". The Indian Express. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  6. ^ "14 साल की उम्र में रोजाना 4 घंटे शूटिंग की प्रैक्टिस और 1 घंटा योग". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 6 April 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  7. ^ Scroll Staff. "Shooting Nationals: Teenager Esha Singh pips Manu Bhaker to clinch triple crown". Scroll.in. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Asian Airgun Championships: Sarabjot Singh, Esha Singh win gold in junior air pistol". Scroll.in. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  9. ^ Singh, Philem Dipak (27 September 2023). "Asian Games: Indian trio bags gold in women's 25m pistol event". ThePrint. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  10. ^ PTI (3 January 2020). "Shooter Esha Singh reveals her father's sacrifice to support her career". Sportstar. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  11. ^ a b B. Krishna Prasad (27 June 2020). "Esha Singh makes NRAI core training group | More sports News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  12. ^ "ईशा सिंह: 16 साल की चैंपियन जिन्हें पिस्टल की गोली की आवाज़ लगती है संगीत". BBC News हिंदी (in Hindi). 4 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
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