Elavenil Valarivan wins team and individual silver in women's 10m air rifle at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games
Elavenil Valarivan helped India claim two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan on Sunday, September 20, 2026, finishing second in both the team and individual events. Japan’s Hinata Taichi took individual gold with an Asian Games record 253.0 while Elavenil scored 252.4 for silver.
India’s shooting campaign opened with the women’s 10m air rifle team event, where Elavenil paired with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod to secure the nation’s first shooting medal of the Games. The Indian trio totalled 1898.0 in qualification to finish behind China, which set a qualification world record of 1904.2. Japan finished third with 1897.1, 0.9 points adrift of India, and team medals were decided on the basis of the three shooters’ qualification scores.
In the individual final Elavenil finished with 252.4 points, 0.6 shy of Taichi’s 253.0 Asian Games record. South Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin, described in reports as the reigning world champion and Paris Olympics gold medallist, took bronze with 230.4. Elavenil had appeared on course for gold for much of the final before her challenge faded in the closing stages.
The match swung in the later shots: after the 17th shot Elavenil led Ban by 1.4 points with Taichi lying third, and after the 21st shot she was 0.2 ahead of the Japanese shooter. She entered the final two shots 0.3 behind Taichi, shot a 10.4 while Taichi posted a 10.6 to extend the lead to 0.5, and closed with a 10.1 as Taichi answered with a 10.2.
Reflecting on the final, Elavenil said: “I think I knew that somewhere I was in the top three and although I was coming back to focusing on my process and my technique, I did get a bit relaxed. I really need to work on my finals some more. I think that’s all. I felt I gave my absolute best and I’m glad it turned out that way.” The result was her first individual Asian Games medal after competing at the 2018 Jakarta and 2022 Hangzhou editions without making the podium; she is also the 2025 World Championship bronze medallist and took silver at the 2025 Asian Championships in Shymkent and again at the 2026 edition in New Delhi.
In qualification for the team event Sonam led India with 634.1 to finish third overall, Elavenil scored 633.5 to place seventh and Vidarsa shot 630.4 for 12th; Vidarsa did not make the individual final but her score proved decisive for the team silver. On her Asian Games debut Vidarsa said: “Yes, it’s a great achievement. It’s another thing that I could not qualify for the final, but the team silver has given us a good start.” She added: “I was not nervous. I was confident and just focused on my shooting.” The report noted she had taken up the 10m air rifle only two months earlier and that her principal discipline is the 50m rifle 3-positions.
China’s depth was prominent in qualification, with junior world champion Wang Zifei topping the standings on 638.8 to set a new qualification Asian record and Han Jiyan finishing fifth with 633.8. China had three shooters inside the qualification positions but, with only two athletes per country allowed into the individual medal round, its third shooter missed out. China’s team mark of 1904.2 bettered its previous record of 1902.0 set at the Asian Championships in Shymkent last August.
The two silver medals provided an encouraging start to India’s shooting campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, arriving amid substantial expectations after the country’s record haul of 22 medals — seven gold, nine silver and six bronze — at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
