India slips from a near‑gold position to fifth place in the women’s 25m pistol team event after a disastrous rapid stage that erased the one‑point lead over China. The team finished 1727‑56x, 16 points shy of China’s 1743‑68x gold.
Rahi Sarnobat’s opening series went awry when she missed the first target, setting a negative tone that the rest of the team couldn’t recover from. The rapid stage proved brutal, and the squad’s cumulative score dropped sharply.
Esha Singh remains the bright spot, firing 580‑22x to finish eighth overall and snag the last qualifying spot for the individual final. Manu Bhaker posted 579‑18x, landing 11th, while Sarnobat finished 30th with 568‑16x.
China, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Vietnam topped the podium with 1743‑68x, 1735‑65x, 1734‑48x, and 1732‑56x respectively. India’s shooting contingent has seen a mixture of podium finishes and near‑misses throughout the Games.
The setback hits India hard, especially after the bronze in Hangzhou and team gold in 2022. Yet Esha’s final‑round berth offers a silver lining; a medal could still be within reach.
Next up, India will battle in the women’s 10m air pistol team event, while Esha gears up for the 25m pistol final, hoping to flip the narrative.