Young Indian prodigy Esha Singh will be among the 21-member Indian shooting contingent vying for glory at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Esha, a 19-year-old from Hyderabad, is making her Olympics debut.
Despite being in her early days in the sport, Esha has a strong kitty of medals in her bag. She is the 2022 Junior World Championships gold medallist in 25m air pistol, the Hangzhou Asian Games Silver medallist and also has Gold medals to her name in team events.
Esha is now gearing up for the upcoming Games in Paris. In an exclusive chat with India TV's Sports Editor Samip Rajguru, the prodigy opened up about her journey in this sport and which were the turning points for her in it.
"My shooting journey began because of my father," she says in an exclusive chat with India TV. "My father is a sportsman, he always wanted me to pick a sport as he felt that sport teaches you discipline. He used to take me to try a sport every year. My father's friend invited my father to the shooting range. I went with my dad and I liked the sport," she says.
Esha picked up the sport 10 years back when she was nine years old. She says that her first turning point was her maiden competition at the state level. "The turning point was the first state competition that I won as an 11-year-old kid. I won the Gold medal in the sub-junior category. It was a boost for me that I am good at this sport and I thought that I should give a go at it," she adds.
The journey picked up momentum thereafter with Esha playing in South Zone and nationals. Not many know but Esha has defeated Olympian and youth Olympic champion Manu Bhaker at the 62nd National Shooting Championships in 2018. She says she does not aim to beat anyone but looks to focus on her game.
"My goal has never been to defeat someone. I just focus on my game. I have to grow in my game. Major credits (for my success) go to my parents - my mom and my dad. My mom has been an underdog in the house. She is working behind me in my studies," she said.
"At the International level, the ISSF Junior World Cup. It was very important for me to win that medal. It boosted my confidence in a big way that I am good at the world level too," the 19-year-old added.
Esha has the same philosophy for the Olympics too that she just wants to focus on her game nothing else. On being asked about her expectations for her first Olympics, Esha said, "I want to go there and execute my technique. I have to play my own game. I don't want to go there with the mindset that I have to beat somebody. I just want to play my own game, focus on myself and not make the Olympics a very big thing in my head. Just take it as another competition," she added.
Watch the Interview here:
