Elavenil Valarivan won two silver medals for India at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, producing a strong performance in the women’s 10m air rifle events in Japan. She first helped India win silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event before securing another silver in the individual final on September 20. Her two-medal performance came on the opening day of shooting competition at the Games.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

Elavenil Valarivan Takes Individual Silver

Elavenil Valarivan finished second in the women’s 10m air rifle individual final with a score of 252.4 points. Japan’s Hinata Taichi won the gold medal with 253.0 points, setting a new Asian Games record. South Korea’s Ban Hyojin, the reigning Olympic champion, took bronze with 230.4 points.

The final was closely contested between Valarivan and Taichi. Valarivan was ahead during much of the competition and had 106.0 points after the opening 10 shots. Taichi stayed close before moving ahead during the final stages.

The Japanese shooter eventually finished only 0.6 points ahead of Valarivan. Her 253.0-point score improved the previous Asian Games record of 252.7, which had been set at the Hangzhou 2022 Games.

India Wins Team Silver

Earlier on the same day, Valarivan joined Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition. The Indian trio scored 1898.0 points to finish second and win silver.

China won the team gold with a world-record score of 1904.2 points. Japan secured bronze with 1897.1 points, making the margin between the silver and bronze positions just 0.9 points.

Sonam Maskar was India’s top scorer in the team qualification with 634.1 points. Valarivan contributed 633.5 points, while Vidarsa also helped India remain in medal position.

The result gave India its first medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and began the country’s shooting campaign with a silver medal.

A Special Day for Valarivan

The two silver medals made September 20 a notable day in Valarivan’s international career. The Prime Minister’s Office also congratulated her for winning the individual silver and highlighted that it was her second medal of the day.

Her two medals came in both team and individual competitions, showing her contribution across the women’s 10m air rifle programme.

Valarivan has been one of India’s established international rifle shooters and has competed at major global competitions. Her performance in Nagoya added another major result to her international record.

Strong Competition in Women’s Air Rifle

The women’s 10m air rifle competition at Aichi-Nagoya brought together leading shooters from across Asia. The individual final included athletes from India, Japan, China and South Korea.

Hinata Taichi’s gold was particularly significant for Japan because she became the first individual shooting gold medallist of the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Her Asian Games record also gave the host country an early highlight in the shooting programme.

For India, Valarivan’s silver and the team silver provided a strong start to the shooting events.

Shooting Remains a Key Part of India’s Campaign

The shooting programme at Aichi-Nagoya includes rifle, pistol and shotgun competitions. Events are being conducted across individual, team and mixed-team formats during the Games. According to the ISSF schedule, the 10m air rifle events were followed by other rifle, pistol and shotgun competitions through the Games period.

India’s men’s 10m air rifle team also added another silver medal on September 21. Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Himanshu Dhillon and Parth Rakesh Mane scored 1890.1 points to finish behind China, which set a world record of 1899.0.

Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil later won silver and bronze respectively in the men’s individual 10m air rifle final, while China’s Sheng Lihao won gold with an Asian record of 254.2.

More Asian Games Shooting Events Underway

The shooting competition continued after the air rifle events with mixed-team and shotgun competitions. In the 10m air rifle mixed team event on September 22, China won gold with another world-record score of 507.1. South Korea took silver and Japan won bronze, while India finished fourth.

The wider shooting schedule includes 10m air pistol, 50m rifle 3 positions, 25m pistol, trap and skeet events. These competitions will continue to add to the shooting medal programme as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games progress.

For Elavenil Valarivan, the two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle events have already made her one of the notable Indian performers in the early days of the 2026 Asian Games. Her individual silver came just hours after she helped India secure the team silver, giving the Indian shooter a double podium finish in Nagoya.