![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zaanews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Esha-Singh.webp\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nCartridges flew around. Shots went missing. Scores were miscalculated. Favourites bit the bullet. Heroic comebacks were scripted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all the drama, it was a father-daughter duo that smiled the widest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the firing line,\u00a0Esha Singh\u00a0was hunting down her opponents with every bullet that left her pistol, and putting her Chinese opponent under increasing pressure. In the stands, her father Sachin was single-handedly drowning out the noise made by a thousand Chinese supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He barked out instructions, shouted words of encouragement and whistled; a father\u2019s desperate attempt to assure his child she wasn\u2019t alone in an intense battle, in an intimidating setting of a nerve-wracking final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It didn\u2019t matter to him that Esha couldn\u2019t hear a word. She had tucked in the earplugs, put the blinkers on and was unwavering despite multiple distractions and stoppages in a riveting 25m Pistol final that was halted twice \u2013 once because of a routine problem due to flying shells and then bizarrely for a shot that missed a target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a seemingly never-ending match with twists and turns after every shot, Esha finished with a credible silver, finishing behind China\u2019s Liu Rui who set a Games record en route to her gold medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other Indian in the fray, Manu Bhaker \u2013 who shot an incredible total of 590 out of a possible 600 to top the 43-shooter qualification round \u2013 finished fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were times in the final when it looked like Manu would return with a medal instead of Esha. But the 18-year-old, mentored by Olympic medallist Gagan Narang, mounted a stunning comeback to leave behind her compatriot and her other challengers from South Korea and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n