5 min readFeb 4, 2026 09:58 PM IST At the start of the year, Esha Singh left everyone puzzled. Across four events at the shooting nationals and domestic trials, the 21-year-old would breeze through qualifications, earn her spot in the final, and then simply not show up. For a shooter with medals from every international competition imaginable—save for the one that matters most, an Olympic podium finish—the deliberate absences seemed bizarre. What was India’s pistol prodigy doing? On Wednesday at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, the answer became clear. With just four days of mental preparation—visualizing her finals routine, rehearsing the pressure moments in her mind—Singh walked into the Asian Shooting Championships and delivered. The 10m air pistol gold came easily, a commanding 4.8-point margin over silver medalist Ching-yen Chen, with a score of 239.8. Not world-beating, perhaps, but convincing enough to add another continental medal to her growing collection. “She’s a seasoned athlete,” explains coach Ronak Pandit, defending the unusual strategy. “She doesn’t need training for finals right now.” The pressure cooker It’s …