Asian Rifle Pistol C'ships 2026: Manu Bhaker settles for Silver after shoot-off thriller

India added to its growing medal haul at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in New Delhi on Monday, with Manu Bhaker narrowly missing out on gold in the women’s 25m pistol after a dramatic double shoot-off, while Esha Singh secured the bronze medal.

Competing at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, Manu Bhaker finished level with Vietnam’s Thuy Trang Nguyen at 35 shots at the end of the final, forcing a shoot-off to decide the title. The first shoot-off failed to separate the two shooters, with both registering two hits. In the second shoot-off, Nguyen held her nerve as Bhaker dropped three shots, settling for silver after an intense contest.

Esha Singh picked up her second individual medal of the championship, finishing third. Esha began strongly, opening the final with a perfect score in the first series and remaining in contention for gold deep into the match. However, a difficult ninth series ended her title challenge, leaving her with the bronze. India’s Rhythm Sangwan narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth.

Junior gold boosts India’s medal count

In the junior women’s 25m pistol final, Naamya Kapoor clinched gold after prevailing in a shoot-off against Indonesia’s Rihadatul Asyifa. Both shooters finished tied on 29 shots before Kapoor produced three hits in the shoot-off, while her opponent failed to register a score. Former world champion Anjali Bhagwat added to India’s tally with a bronze medal, while Parisha Gupta finished fifth.

India also claimed gold medals in both the senior and junior team events, taking the overall medal count to 60, including 37 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals.

The championship action is being streamed live on FanCode, with Indian shooters continuing to dominate across categories on home soil.