ISSF World Cup Munich: Esha Singh breaks world record, bags 25 m pistol gold (photo/ANI)

PUNE: Esha Singh shot a dream final as she clinched gold in the women’s 25m pistol event with world records at the ISSF Munich World Cup on Wednesday. Hyderabad’s Esha shot 43 in the final, one more than the previous seniors world record, and two more than the junior world record. Esha, 21, broke Korean shooter Kim Ye-ji’s record of 42 shots, set in 2024. The junior record was held by Paris Olympics gold medallist, Yang Ji-in (41) of Korea, also since 2024.In the final on Wednesday, Esha’s dominance could be gauged from the 5-point gap between gold and silver. The second spot was sealed by seasoned German shooter Doreen Vennekamp (38).Esha, who had won bronze at the World Championships last year, said she wanted to win a medal at Munich, but had not thought of winning it in this manner. “The Munich World Cup is a very prestigious event, and the scores go high here, so even qualifying for the finals is a big achievement. I badly wanted to win a medal here. I didn’t think of creating a new world record, but I am happy I did as a record with gold at this range would mean a lot,” Esha told TOI .The youngster said the win would help her gain confidence ahead of a busy season. “We have the Asian Games, World Championships later this year. I will remember this performance to get confidence, but at the same time, will also work on my future matches,” she said.Esha’s coach Ronak Pandit said a grip change did her good.