Esha Singh wins Munich World Cup gold with record-breaking performance

Esha Singh produced a sensational performance at the ISSF World Cup 2026 Munich by winning the women’s 25m pistol gold medal with a world record score on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Indian shooter topped a strong field featuring reigning Olympic champion Yang Ji-in and former world champion Doreen Vennekamp. Esha finished the final with a remarkable score of 43 out of 50, which now stands as both the senior and junior world record in the event.

The gold medal marked India’s first individual shooting medal of the ISSF World Cup season across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines. It also secured Esha a direct qualification berth for the season-ending ISSF World Cup Final in Rome later this year.

Germany’s Doreen Vennekamp won silver with 38/50, while Bulgaria’s Miroslava Mincheva took bronze.

Manu Bhaker narrowly misses final cut

Olympic champion Yang Ji-in, who had topped qualification with a score of 592-28x, finished fifth in the final after struggling during the elimination stages.

Esha had entered the medal round after qualifying fifth with 587-19x, including scores of 293 in precision and 294 in rapid fire.

Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker missed out on the final after finishing 12th in qualification with 582-19x. She shot 288 in precision and 294 in rapid fire.

Former Commonwealth Games champion Rahi Sarnobat also failed to qualify for the final, ending 14th with 581-23x.

India’s Arshdeep Kaur and Tejaswani competed under ranking points only status and finished 44th and 51st respectively.