Esha Singh attributes success to father Sachin’s support, says winning Paris Olympics quota ‘a burden off my head’

For the gifted shooter Esha Singh, it is ‘mission partly accomplished’ when she made the cut for the Paris Olympics, winning the women’s 10m air pistol gold in the on-going Asian championship in Jarkarta on Monday.

“I am feeling great to get the quota for the country. I had the goal set and it worked out as per my plan,” said a visibly elated Esha in a telephonic chat from Jakarta.

For the record, Esha clinched the gold with a score of 243.1 and also combined with Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Rao to win the team gold medal with a combined score of 1736.

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“The qualification was tough, the best part was the final, which I won with a huge margin and getting the quota with dominance was a great feeling,” said the 19-year-old shooter, winner of the gold in the women’s 25m pistol team and silver medals in 25m air pistol (individual), 10m air pistol (individual) and 10m air pistol (team) in the last Asian Games.

“I plan my matches well in advance and prepare for the goal set. There will be not much of change going into the Olympic cycle; just maintain my focus and stick to the game plan,” said Esha about her approach to big events.

Esha thanked Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bhindra and coaches Ved Prakash and Ronak Pandit for the way they have been guiding her in her pursuit of excellence at the highest level.

She also attributed her success to the “great support” of her father Sachin Singh, who was there in Jakarta to witness his daughter script that memorable moment of qualifying for this year’s Paris Olympics.

“My father (Sachin Singh) does all my planning for the matches along with my coach. I stay out of this; my duty is to shoot and programme myself for the task with discipline,” said Esha.

Shifting her focus to her ultimate dream of winning a gold in the Olympics, Esha said she would now focus on the kind of preparations needed to make it big in the Paris Games.

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“I will try my best to maintain the desired focus and schedule my training accordingly,” she said.

“Well, definitely, booking the Olympics quota means a huge burden is off my head. But, it also doesn’t mean that I will be found wanting in my commitment and hard work as I approach the Olympics,” she said.

“The secret of my success can be that I play all matches in a relaxed manner with emphasis on technique. I have set my goal for the Olympics long back and today’s achievement is just inching towards that slowly,” she said.