&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "ISSF World Championship: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh keep medal hope alive in women’s 25m pistol final")
Esha Singh and Manu Bhaker are both in strong contention to secure spots in the final of the women's 25m sport pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Championship Rifle/Pistol 2025, at the Olympic Shooting Range in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday (November 13). After completing the precision stage, Esha is currently in fourth place, while Manu holds the seventh position among a field of 85 shooters. Esha posted scores of 294-11x (98, 97, 99), while Manu, a two-time Olympic medalist, recorded 292-11x (98, 96, 98), keeping her well within striking distance of the leaders. Rahi Sarnobat, the third Indian shooter in the competition, is further behind in 56th place with a score of 284-7x (95, 96, 93).
At the top of the standings is Turkey’s Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, who shot an impressive 299-12x (100, 100, 99), followed by France’s Camille Jedrzejewski, the Paris Olympic silver medalist, with 295-13x (98, 99, 98), and Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan, also at 295-13x (99, 99, 97). The French shooter secured second place based on countback. Iran’s Golnoush Sebghatollahi and Mina Ghorbani are in fifth and sixth positions, both with 292-13x, while Lin Jou-Yu of Chinese Taipei rounds off the top eight with 292-9x (97, 97, 98). The top eight shooters after the qualification rounds will advance to the final. The Rapid Stage will be held on Friday (November 14) at 4:30pm IST.
India is currently ranked second in the overall medal tally, with three gold, five silver, and three bronze medals, behind China, which leads with eight golds and a total of 15 medals. Earlier in the competition, both Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh had disappointment in the women’s 10m air pistol final on Monday (November 11), after showing promise but ultimately failing to secure individual medals. Manu Bhaker, who had previously won bronze in both individual and mixed team events at the Paris Olympics, had a strong start but suffered a significant setback after shooting an 8.8 on her 14th shot, dropping her from first to seventh place. She finished the final with a score of 139.5.
Esha Singh, the 20-year-old multiple Asian Games medallist who had earlier secured World Cup gold in Ningbo, China, also struggled during the decisive stages. Despite shooting a solid 10.7, she faltered with an 8.4 on her 14th attempt, finishing in sixth place in the final.
