SportsPosted at: Sep 20 2026 5:45PM


Asian Games shooting: Elavenil doubles up on silver as India make strong start

New Delhi, Sep 20 (UNI) India made a strong start to its shooting campaign at the Asian Games on Sunday, with Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa Vinod combining to win silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event.
The Indian trio finished second with a combined score of 1898.0, behind China, which set a new qualification world record with 1904.2 points. China bettered its own previous mark of 1902.0, set at the Asian Championships in Shymkent in August last year, which was also the Asian record.
India held off hosts Japan by just 0.9 points in a close fight for silver, with Japan finishing third on 1897.1. The team medals were decided on the basis of the combined qualification scores of the three shooters. Sonam, who finished third in the individual qualification, led India with 634.1 points, while Elavenil, competing at her third Asian Games, scored 633.5 to finish seventh. Asian Games debutant Vidarsa posted 630.4 and finished 12th.
Elavenil joins Gagan in India’s 10m air rifle record book
Elavenil returned to the range in around an hour and added an individual silver to her team medal, becoming only the sixth Indian to win a medal in the women's 10m air rifle event at the Asian Games. She is only the second Indian woman to win silver in the discipline after her mentor Gagan Narang finished runner-up in 2010.
Elavenil finished with 252.4 points, coming agonisingly close to gold as Japan's Hinata Taichi produced a decisive finish to win with an Asian Games record score of 253.0.
The Indian was in control for much of the final, opening with 53.1 after her first five shots and maintaining the lead through the early elimination rounds. She stayed at the top deep into the final, but the gold medal battle went down to the last two shots. Elavenil entered the closing stages 0.3 points ahead of Taichi and responded with a 10.4, only for the Japanese shooter to fire a 10.6 and close the gap.
With one shot remaining, Elavenil managed 10.1, but Taichi held her nerve with a 10.2 to finish on 253.0 and take gold. Elavenil settled for silver on 252.4.
Meanwhile, Sonam, who had also been part of India's team silver-winning combination, finished sixth, while Vidarsa missed out on the individual final on her Asian Games debut.
Vidarsa's contribution to the team medal was particularly notable given that she had taken up the 10m air rifle only two months ago. Her main event is the 50m rifle 3-positions, but she adapted quickly to air rifle and produced a score that helped India stay ahead of Japan in the tight team competition.
“I am definitely confident that I will do much better in 50m 3-positions as it is my main event,” she said.
The two silver medals have given India's shooting campaign an encouraging start as the contingent looks to build on its record performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where Indian shooters won 22 medals, including seven gold, nine silver and six bronze.
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