Esha Singh's World Record Guides India to Second-Place Finish at Munich ISSF World Cup

The Indian shooting contingent concluded its campaign at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol 2026 in Munich, Germany, securing a second-place finish on the final medal tally. Anchored by standout pistol performances and a historic world record, India finished the elite tournament with a total haul of four medals: two gold and two silver.

China topped the global standings with seven medals, while Norway finished third behind India with a total of three medals.

The Medal Tally

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	4	0	3	7
2	India	2	2	0	4
3	Norway	2	1	0	3
4	South Korea	1	1	1	3

Performance Highlights

Esha Singh's World Record in 25m Pistol

Esha Singh delivered the definitive performance of the tournament for India, claiming gold in the Women's 25m Pistol event with a sensational world record score of 43 hits in the final.

Singh qualified for the final in the fourth position, registering an aggregate score of 587, which included 293 in the precision round and 294 in rapid-fire. In the final, she exhibited exceptional consistency, shooting perfect fives in the opening three series to distance herself from the field. Despite dropping a shot in her fourth series, she maintained a clear advantage and went on to score perfect fives again in the sixth and eighth series.

Her final score of 43 hits surpassed the previous senior world record of 42 set by South Korea’s Kim Yeji in Baku, as well as the junior world record of 41 held by reigning Olympic Champion Yang Jiin. Former world champion Doreen Vennekamp of Germany took the silver medal with 38 hits, while Bulgaria's Miroslava Mincheva claimed bronze.

1-2 Finish in Women's 10m Air Pistol

India achieved a dominant double podium in the Women's 10m Air Pistol event, with continental champion Suruchi Inder Singh Phogat claiming gold and Esha Singh securing the silver medal.

Suruchi Singh won the event with a composed final routine to lead the field. Trailing South Korea's Choo Gaeun during the early stages of the final, Suruchi capitalized on consecutive minor slips from the Korean shooter by firing high-precision inner tens to seize control of the top spot. Esha Singh mounted a steady comeback through the elimination stages to secure second place, confirming her second individual medal of the Munich leg.

Mixed Team Silver for Bhaker and Rana

On the final day of competition, the Indian pairing of Manu Bhaker and Samrat Rana secured a silver medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event.

The duo progressed to the gold medal match after delivering a solid qualification round. In a tightly contested final, the Indian pair went toe-to-toe with China's Yao Qianxun and Hu Kai. Despite erasing an early deficit to mount pressure on the reigning international champions, minor late fluctuations in the final series allowed the Chinese pair to edge out Bhaker and Rana by a narrow 0.3-point margin, finishing 483.9 to 483.6.

Other Results

Rifle Contingent: Indian rifle shooters missed out on the final medal rounds across individual and mixed team events. In the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team qualifiers, the Indian pairs failed to make the cut for the medal matches. Ashi Chouksey narrowly missed out on the Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions final by a single point.
Equipment Disqualification: In the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar shot a strong qualification score but was disqualified ahead of the final stage after his equipment failed to clear the mandatory post-match technical inspection check.
Rapid Fire Pistol: Anish Bhanwal, Udayveer Sidhu, and Suraj Sharma did not progress past the qualification stages in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event, a discipline ultimately won by China's Su Lianbofan with a world record-setting 35 hits.

The next leg of the ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol disciplines is scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, later this season.