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For a while, it seemed to work. The 21-year-old from Hyderabad clawed her way back from the brink of elimination, survived four shoot-offs against North Korea’s Kim Hyon Suk and forced Xiao into a second tie-breaker for gold. But after the two shooters finished level at 38 hits in the regulation final and tied again at 4-4 in the first shoot-off, Xiao finally pulled away, winning the decisive series 3-2. Esha had to settle for silver.

“It was amazing, and I’ve never had an experience like this before. Definitely going into my bucket of amazing experiences, and I’m grateful for every moment. Though it was nerve-racking, it was amazing,” she said.

Breaking point

The final had begun very differently. Esha hit all five targets in her opening series and followed it up with four more to take an early lead. But the rhythm soon deserted her. A three-hit series allowed Xiao to move ahead, and the Indian found herself repeatedly fighting to stay in contention.

At one point, she slipped outside the medal positions. With another disappointing finish threatening to follow her struggles in the 10m air pistol, Esha needed a response. She delivered a perfect five-hit series to stay alive. The fight for the medals then became a contest of endurance. Esha and Kim finished level at 34 hits, forcing a shoot-off. The first two tie-breakers failed to separate them, with both recording three hits apiece. After another lengthy interruption, Esha finally prevailed 3-2 in the third, securing at least silver and setting up a showdown with Xiao.

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The Chinese shooter had been waiting for nearly 15 minutes as the battle for the other medal positions dragged on. But when Esha returned to the firing line, the Indian showed little sign of being overwhelmed by the delay.

She had, however, begun to feel the strain. “Because of the pressure, I think this time, in my mind, I don’t know if it was a thought or if it was really happening, but my hand was genuinely getting very, very tight and very tired without me realising, even in the first series,” Esha said. “So I just tried releasing or relaxing it a bit.”

The stoppages, she explained, had given her an opportunity to do precisely that. “It looks like a situation where the zone is breaking for an athlete, but in my case, it really helped me.”

Esha had another hurdle to clear. Xiao, who had led for much of the final, was now the only obstacle between her and gold. The two shooters finished the regulation final level at 38 hits, forcing a shoot-off. They were tied again at 4-4 in the first tie-breaker, leaving the title to be decided in one final five-shot series. Xiao hit three targets to Esha’s two to claim gold.

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Silver lining

The silver was a measure of redemption for Esha after a disappointing outing in the women’s 10m air pistol earlier in the Games. She finished 15th with a score of 572, while India narrowly missed a team bronze, finishing fourth on the count of inner tens.

The 25m pistol, however, is a discipline in which Esha has consistently delivered. The world No. 1 has won two World Cup titles and a bronze at the World Championships over the past 18 months. At the Munich World Cup in May, she produced a record-breaking performance in the final, registering 43 hits to set senior and junior world records.

The silver also increased India’s shooting tally, with Esha adding another podium finish in one of the country’s strongest disciplines.

She had also won individual silver medals in both the 10m and 25m pistol events at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, along with a team gold and silver.

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India, meanwhile, finished fifth in the women’s 25m pistol team event. The team had been one point behind China, but Rahi Sarnobat’s opening-series miss in the rapid-fire round cost them valuable points.

For Esha, though, the day ended with a medal — her second successive individual silver in the 25m pistol at the Asian Games, and a reminder of why the event remains her strongest.