Elavenil Valarivan Shines with Two Silver Medals at Asian Games 2026
Elavenil Valarivan's Remarkable Achievement
By Adarsh Chauhan
New Delhi [India] - September 26: Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan expressed her immense pride in representing her nation after returning home with two silver medals from the Asian Games 2026 held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Elavenil secured silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event, partnering with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod, and later added another silver in the individual women's 10m air rifle event on the same day.
On September 20, Elavenil, along with Maskar and Vinod, competed in the women's 10m air rifle team event, achieving silver with a qualification aggregate score of 1898.0 points. She subsequently earned an individual silver in the 10m air rifle event, where she was in contention for gold until Japan's Hinata Taichi took the lead in the final moments.
The Indian shooting team was warmly welcomed back at the New Delhi airport on Friday night. Elavenil, who returned with two silver medals, expressed her gratitude for the support she received and emphasized her honor in representing India.
"It’s a very grateful feeling; so many people are cheering and supporting us. We are very privileged to represent our country and win medals. The least I could do for my country and make the country proud," she stated.
As of now, India has amassed a total of 23 medals at the Asian Games, including two gold, nine silver, and 12 bronze medals, with shooting contributing significantly to this tally. Elavenil highlighted that shooting has been one of India's strongest disciplines and expressed her joy in maintaining the momentum with medal-winning performances.
"I think shooting has been one of the strongest games, and we’re glad we could keep up the momentum and win medals for our country," she remarked.
India's latest success in shooting at the Asian Games 2026 occurred on Friday when Suruchi Singh and Kamaljeet ended the pistol shooting medal drought by clinching gold in the mixed team 10m air pistol event. The duo scored 484.6 points in the final, finishing 6.6 points ahead of South Korea, who took silver with 478.0 points. This victory marked India's second gold medal at the Games, and Suruchi and Kamaljeet also set a new Asian record of 481.3 points, previously held by Uzbekistan.