Esha Singh clinched the gold medal in the Women’s 25m Pistol at the ISSF World Cup 2026 held at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, on July 27, 2026. India wrapped up the combined rifle, pistol and shotgun event in third place with four medals, one gold, one silver and two bronze. China dominated the home competition with 18 medals, including 7 gold, while the United States finished second with 8 medals.
How Esha Singh Won the Gold
The 21-year-old from Hyderabad produced a commanding display in the Women’s 25m Pistol final, leading the eight-shooter field from the very first series. She opened with five hits and never surrendered the lead, finishing with 40 hits out of 50 to win by a margin of three hits.
China’s Zhang Yueyue took the silver with 37 hits, delighting the home crowd, while India’s Manu Bhaker secured the bronze with 28 hits after winning a crucial shoot-off. Manu edged out Pak Hyon Gyong of North Korea, who finished fourth, while Paris 2024 Olympic champion Oh Yejin of South Korea was eliminated in seventh place.
In qualification, Manu placed sixth with a score of 586-20x, while Esha finished eighth with 585-18x. Both Indian shooters had reached the final through their scoring in the precision and rapid-fire stages that make up the 25m pistol event.
India’s Four-Medal Haul in Hangzhou
India’s medal campaign in Hangzhou opened on July 24, when Sainyam Vij won the silver medal in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol. The 19-year-old finished behind China’s Yao Qianxun, who struck gold with a late surge in the final.
Esha Singh’s gold and Manu Bhaker’s bronze in the Women’s 25m Pistol on July 27 took India’s tally to three. The final Indian medal came on the concluding day, July 28, when Sonam Maskar and Himanshu Dhillon won bronze in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event, scoring 441.2 points.
| Event | Athlete | Medal |
|---|---|---|
| Women’s 25m Pistol | Esha Singh | Gold |
| Women’s 10m Air Pistol | Sainyam Vij | Silver |
| Women’s 25m Pistol | Manu Bhaker | Bronze |
| 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team | Sonam Maskar, Himanshu Dhillon | Bronze |
The bronze in the air rifle mixed team was Himanshu Dhillon’s first senior international medal, while Sonam Maskar won her first World Cup medal in two years. India fielded a 36-member squad in Hangzhou, led by Olympic medallists Manu Bhaker and Swapnil Kusale, with the contingent spanning rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.
Esha Singh’s Remarkable Rise
Born on January 1, 2005 in Hyderabad to a rally-driver father, Esha tried go-karting, badminton, tennis and skating before a visit to the shooting range at the Gachibowli Athletic Stadium drew her to air pistol. She began shooting in 2014 and, a year later, became the Telangana state champion in the 10m air pistol.
At just 13, she stunned the sport by becoming the youngest senior national champion, beating Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu at the 62nd National Shooting Championships in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018. She trained at the Gun for Glory academy in Pune, founded by former Olympic medallist Gagan Narang.
Esha won four medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, including team gold and individual silver in the 25m pistol. She claimed an Olympic quota berth in the 10m air pistol in January 2024 and represented India in the Women’s 25m Pistol at the Paris 2024 Olympics, finishing 18th in qualification. She received the Arjuna Award in 2023.
A Season of Records for Esha Singh
The Hangzhou gold was Esha’s second ISSF World Cup title of the 2026 season. In May, she won the Women’s 25m Pistol at the Munich World Cup with 43 hits, breaking both the senior and junior world records for the event. She had also won silver in the 10m air pistol at the same Munich meet.
Earlier in 2026, she won the individual 10m air pistol gold at the Asian Shooting Championships held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. Her consistency across air pistol and sport pistol events has made her one of India’s most dependable shooting prospects heading into the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The double-podium finish in Hangzhou also carried Olympic weight: individual gold medallists at ISSF World Cups qualify directly for the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final, scheduled for December in Rome, Italy. Both Esha Singh and Manu Bhaker have already sealed their places there through their 2026 performances.
The ISSF World Cup and China’s Dominance
The ISSF World Cup is an annual series of international shooting competitions run by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), the world governing body for the sport, founded in 1907 and headquartered in Munich, Germany. The World Cup was introduced in 1986 to create a uniform qualification pathway to the Olympic shooting events.
The Hangzhou edition was the 41st season of the competition and brought together 686 athletes from 61 countries across rifle, pistol and shotgun events over six days of competition. Athletes from 17 nations won gold medals, underlining the depth of the international field.
Host China topped the medal table with 18 medals, including 7 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze. The United States finished second with 2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze, while India completed the top three. The competition also produced two world records: Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai shot 488.4 to win the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team, and Zhang Changhong scored 363.0 to win the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions.
The venue, the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre, was purpose-built as the shooting, archery and modern pentathlon venue for the 19th Asian Games, which Hangzhou hosted in 2023. Its return as an ISSF venue is part of a deeper relationship, Hangzhou will host the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in 2027 as well as the ISSF Junior World Cup.
India’s Growing Shooting Pipeline
India’s showing in Hangzhou continues a strong run on the World Cup circuit in 2026. Earlier in the season, Mukesh Nelavalli and Palak Gulia won the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team gold at Granada, while Vivaan Kapoor and Neeru Dhanda claimed bronze in the Trap Mixed Team at Almaty.
The results reflect a system that has matured since India’s best-ever Olympic shooting campaign at Paris 2024, where Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals and Swapnil Kusale added another. India also topped the shooting medal tally at the 2022 Asian Games with 22 medals, including 7 gold. With multiple world-beating shooters across age groups, the pipeline feeding the Los Angeles 2028 cycle appears robust.
Key Takeaways
- Esha Singh won the gold in the Women’s 25m Pistol at the ISSF World Cup 2026 in Hangzhou on July 27, 2026, finishing with 40 hits.
- India finished third in the medal tally with 4 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre, Hangzhou.
- China topped the tally with 18 medals (7 gold), followed by the USA with 8 medals.
- Manu Bhaker took bronze in the Women’s 25m Pistol, while Sainyam Vij (silver, 10m Air Pistol) and Sonam Maskar-Himanshu Dhillon (bronze, Air Rifle Mixed Team) completed India’s haul.
- Esha, born on January 1, 2005 in Hyderabad, won her second World Cup gold of 2026 after breaking the world record at the Munich World Cup in May with 43 hits.
- The ISSF World Cup Final 2026 will be held in Rome, Italy, in December, and individual World Cup gold medallists qualify directly for it.
