At 13 Esha singh won the title in the senior category. Aiming for a medal at the Olympics.

Technical Sport 

Shooting is much more than just aiming and pulling the trigger. Shooting  technique demands micro-coordination, triggering, body balancing, head, feet,arms positioning, aiming, calmness, concentration, physical and mental fitness, right actions. The result also vastly depends on the quality of rifles, ammunition, working conditions and training.

The Teen Shooting Star.

At 13, Esha made history by winning in the senior nationals 10m rifle shoot. Its commendable and incredible for this young school girl to make it to such a high level of competition.  Esha started shooting since she was 9 YO and has risen much quicker than probably expected.

Where did it all Begin ?

Esha loved sport and has tried her hand at tennis, badminton and was aiming to follow in the foot steps of the many other famous Hyderabad sportstars like Sania and Sindhu but destiny had something else in store.

Lucky to have got to watch her father’s friend shooting one day. When he offered her the Gun, as expected the little girl was nervous and looked up to the father for help. The friend suggested that they take her to Gagan Narang’s Academy in Pune to just find out if she had the desired passion, talent and most of all if she will enjoy it. Surprisingly and shockingly, the minute she picked up an air rifle, she somehow felt the ease and comfort with which she handled the rifle and thoroughly enjoyed and that’s when the switch to shooting happened.

Girls and Shooting ?

Many parents are even today sceptical about their children picking up the Guns and Rifles and so did Esha’s Mom who felt it wasn’t safe until she discovered it was just an Air-Rifle. Even her schoolmates were quite intrigued by Esha taking to shooting. Gun meant a big thing as a little girl but now understands varieties, mechanism, techniques of firing and simply loves the challenge of it. In the last decade or so because of Gagan Narang, Bindra and professional academies, the girls picking up the guns and rifles as a game are increasing.

How does she prepare.

Practice hard, stay calm, no distractions, focus, enjoy the challenge, don’t worry about the scores, aim, pull the trigger and SHooooot...... Enjoying that very moment is all so important she says.

Sacrifice

A competitive sport requires a lot of sacrifices like missing school for days and weeks together, hanging out with friends, missing important events like school trip, sports day etc., missing family get-togethers but one has to let go of some pleasures to achieve something in life. Esha has quite well managed juggling between studies and practice. Nevertheless, Esha loves the sport and that brings her so much satisfaction and thrill especially when she is on a winning streak.

Sports people always have it tough. Making choices at every step. Many drop out because of an academic career, many simply fade away with time, many quit because of financial circumstances and few reach their final destination – The Olympics. With such determination, talent, family support, age being on her side and most importantly being trained by professionals, Esha the shooting star is well within the reach of a medal at the Olympics.