Esha Aims At Oly Bullseye MY GAME MY GUN MY GOLD

It was a Sunday morning like any other when a nine-year-old Esha accompanied her father on a long drive. "I love long drives," said Esha, but this one was a game changer that would steer her destiny.

- Saqib.Rafiqi

The duo ended up at GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Gachibowli, where for the first time, Esha witnessed how shooters hit the bullseye. It was an exhilarating experience and she knew she wanted to give it a go. "It was a very different feeling, so real to see somebody actually shoot with a real gun." Even at a tender age, Esha was hooked to sports, watching her rally driver father, Sachin Singh, zipping across the track. Deep inside, Esha knew her career lay in sports.

Despite trying her hand at badminton and go-karting, Esha didn't get that adrenaline rush. "I would usually lose interest in a month or two," she said. But all that changed when she picked the pistol.

"My uncle guided my dad on my training regimen and I got admission in Gagan Narang's Guns for Glory Shooting Academy in Pune." Esha trained at the academy and realised she really enjoyed the sport. In 2015, the 11-year-old became the Telangana state charm sum pion in the 10m air pistol SPE category.

"I bagged glory in my first state championship. It was gold! I could never get any close in any other sport I dabbled with. For the first time, I felt like I was good at something," Esha said.

After her first win, there was no looking back. "I saw athletes wearing jerseys and I aspired for the big stage. It took me a year or two to get into the Indian team and it felt so surreal. It was one of the happiest moments of my life," she said.

At the age of 13, Esha clinched five medals, including three gold in the 62nd national shooting championship at Thiruvananthapuram in 2018, beating fellow teen shooter and Commonwealth Games and Youth Olympics medalist Manu Bhaker among others. She also became the youngest national champion in the senior category.