Asian Championship: Young Esha Singh shines as India clinch 10m pistol gold, Samrat Rana bags bronze

NEW DELHI: Esha Singh showed remarkable composure under pressure to claim India’s maiden gold at the Asian rifle and pistol championship by winning the 10m air pistol women’s final here on Wednesday. India also won a gold in the women’s team event while the men’s air pistol team took silver with world champion Samrat Rana settling for individual bronze. Esha, who qualified for the final behind compatriots Manu Bhaker and Suruchi Phogat, overcame an ordinary start in her quest for the medal as she found herself in 7th place after the first five shots.Manu and Suruchi started better, with the latter staying at the second position. However, Esha regrouped soon enough to be in the medal contention after the next series of five shots. Double Olympic medallist Manu could not find her usual rhythm and was eliminated after just 14 shots. She finished seventh in he eight-shooter final. Suruchi came fourth.“Unfortunately I had a rough start. But I did not let it affect me. I stuck to my process because I feel that even though your start is bad, it’s not over till the last shot,” Esha said later.The 21-year-old suffered an early setback as she initially struggled to adjust to the lighting in the range. “It was hard to see the sight and the target together. I was asking Manu if it was just me who faced the problem. I was trying to understand if everybody was going through it or if something was wrong with my eyes,” she said, “I wouldn’t say it’s bad lighting. It’s just a challenge. Every range is different. That’s where I feel experience counts.”Asked if competing in the same event as Manu added pressure, Esha said she was more focussed on the job at hand. “For me the competition is with myself and not anyone else. Shooting is a very simple game. You master the game by repeating your process over and over again.”In the men’s pistol, Rana too endured a difficult start. Even though he raised the game towards the end, it was not enough to push him higher than third.“Honestly I am happy with the bronze. It’s my first event in India at the senior level. So it’s satisfying to finish with a medal,” said the 21-year-old, a fan of swimming great Michael Phelps.Vladimir Svechnikov of Uzbekistan won the men’s individual gold and Valeriy Rakimzhan took silver. Uzbekistan also won the men’s team gold. Indian trio of Rana, Sharvan Kumar and Varun Tomar secured team silver and Kazakhstan took the bronze.In the women’s team event, Vietnam took silver and Chinese Taipei claimed bronze.