New Delhi, Asian Games silver shooter medallist Esha Singh doesn't rue missing the Asian Games gold medal by a whisker, but admitted that the women's 25m pistol final was nerve-racking with five shoot-offs, which she never expected.
Esha missed the gold medal by the barest of margins on Monday, settling for silver after a dramatic shoot-off.
In the final, Esha and China's Xiao Jiaruixuan were tied on 38 hits after 50 shots, equalling the Asian Games record, to force a shoot-off for gold.
Deep Dive
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"Yeah, I think it has sunk in, especially with the five shoot-offs, which I was not expecting at all. It was definitely nerve-racking, and my heartbeat was through the roof," Esha told PTI at the IGI airport here on her return from Nagoya on Tuesday night.
"But I think that's something I really had to overcome. I can't really stop the pressure. I have to live through it. That is how you play this game, and that's what thrills me about this sport.
"Definitely, I'm not going to deny that there was no pressure. There was pressure, and 2026 has been a great year for me. But with that comes its own kind of pressure. I think this Asian Games was a little different for me," she observed.
{{/usCountry}}"Definitely, I'm not going to deny that there was no pressure. There was pressure, and 2026 has been a great year for me. But with that comes its own kind of pressure. I think this Asian Games was a little different for me," she observed.
{{/usCountry}}Esha said the Asian Games was different as she never expected five shoot offs.
"But I really had to strive for the medal, and I think it was supposed to be a very memorable silver," she said.
She said she is now experienced enough to understand how her body would behave in a tight situation.
"I think there's no secret. It's just the experiences that have built me up, and I know exactly how my body will perform. I think it's the years of experience and how I've worked on it in the past," she noted.
Esha gave credit to her entire support system for the success she had achieved at the Asian Games.
"It's not something I've done alone. I have an entire team. Of course, it's an individual sport and I'm alone on the lane, but the work that's been put into it is not alone.
"It's my coach, my parents, the support staff from the federation, and I truly felt so privileged getting support from India, especially in this Asian Games, looking at how amazingly we were taken care of," she recalled.
Talking about her upcoming plans, Esha said: "We have the World Championship and the Olympic quota, so I'm looking ahead to that. Every match is crucial, but definitely I will give my best. I'll try my best to perform and give it everything," she signed off.
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