Elavenil Valarivan Stops Chasing Medals, Finds Two Silvers at Asian Games
For years, medals had been the target for Elavenil Valarivan. On Sunday, the Indian shooter finally won two at the Asian Games — after changing the way she looked at the sport.
The 27-year-old came agonisingly close to individual gold in the women’s 10m air rifle final. She led for most of the contest, sitting 0.3 points ahead of Japan’s Hinata Taichi after 20 shots with a score of 211.1.
The advantage disappeared two shots later. Hinata held her nerve in the final stages, shooting 10.6 to Elavenil’s 10.4 on the 23rd shot before finishing with 10.2 against Elavenil’s 10.1.
Hinata finished with 253.0, setting an Asian Games record. Elavenil’s 252.4 earned her silver, while reigning Olympic champion Ban Hyo-jin took bronze with 230.4.
It was a narrow defeat, but Elavenil refused to attribute it to pressure.
“I would say no, not really. If pressure had to play a role, then it should have been from the match, from the beginning of the finals. For me, it was more about following my technique and following my process for every single shot,” she said.
Instead of dwelling on the lost gold, she immediately looked towards the lessons from those final shots.
“There could be a lot of things that I could have done differently, but again, learning is the part that I’m looking more into right now,” she said.
She felt she could have been more patient, taken better decisions and paid more attention to her breathing.
TWO MEDALS IN ONE DAY
The individual silver was actually Elavenil’s second medal of the day.
Earlier, she had teamed up with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod to win silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. Their performance gave India its first medal of the Asian Games.
India finished with 1898.0 points, 0.9 ahead of the hosts, while China claimed gold with a world-record score.
Hours later, Elavenil returned to the shooting range and added another silver.
“I think today definitely is a very, very, very joyous day for me because this was my first Games medal,” she said.
“I’ve played in three Games prior to this — two Olympics and one Asian — and I think this is my first medal. Of course, I’m going to cherish it to the core.”
For an athlete who had spent much of her career being measured by expectations, the achievement marked an important turning point.
EXPECTATIONS STARTED EARLY
Elavenil was already being described as a future star as a teenager.
At 18, she won gold at the 2018 Junior ISSF World Cup in Sydney. Her qualification score of 631.4 was a junior world record.
She had received her own rifle in 2016, entered the junior team the following year and trained at Gagan Narang’s academy under coach Neha Chavan.
But early records and titles could not guarantee success at the biggest competitions.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, she finished 14th and missed the final. She did not make India’s team for the Hangzhou Games. At the Tokyo Olympics, she arrived as world No. 1 but finished 16th in qualification. Paris also ended without a place in the final.
Her overall record, however, remained strong. She won the Asian Championships in Shymkent last year with an Asian record of 253.6 and successfully defended the title this year.
The one achievement missing from her resume was a Games medal.
WHEN WINNING STOPPED BEING EVERYTHING
Elavenil believes the biggest change has been internal.
Earlier, she was focused primarily on making teams, winning competitions and collecting medals. Her approach has gradually changed.
“I think lately I’ve started to enjoy the sport. Initially it was more about me making it to the team, winning the competition, it was about winning it. But now it is more about enjoying it, enjoying just being a part of the team and representing the country,” she said.
She also sees a clear difference between her mindset at Paris and the one she has developed since then.
“Paris, it was more about me being the best of myself, winning the day and competing. But now it is more about just being happy that I get to play the sport, enjoying every single moment that I get on the lane, competing with my co-shooters,” she said.
The desire to win has not disappeared. She wanted the gold on Sunday.
But losing by 0.6 points no longer means that everything else has been lost.
THE FINAL IS A DIFFERENT CHALLENGE
For Elavenil, one of the biggest lessons has been understanding that qualification and the final require different approaches.
“In qualification, we know that we have got 60 shots and we have 1 hour, 15 minutes in our hand. We can take our own time and go on. But when it comes to the final, it is more about being on your toes and giving your best in those 50 seconds,” she explained.
She has been working with her coach and psychologist to adjust to that faster environment.
“Generally, I’m a very fast athlete on the lane during my qualifications, but finals work on a completely different strategy because the time is less and you have to be your absolute best in that given time,” she said.
Her triggering was one of the strongest aspects of her performance on Sunday, although she also believes it remains an area for improvement.
“I was able to take the shots when I wanted to,” she said.
At the same time, she felt there were moments when she could have waited slightly longer before firing.
“So my judgement towards my triggering could have been a little bit better,” she added.
SUPPORT THROUGH THE DIFFICULT DAYS
The road to Sunday’s medals was not free of doubt.
Elavenil acknowledged that there were periods when the lack of results made her question herself.
“When we are working towards something and when we do not see the results, there’s, of course, going to be some level of self-doubt, some level of confusion, some level of frustration,” she said.
Her support team helped her stay on course.
“My coach, my psychologist, my strength and conditioning trainer, my nutritionist, my physio. They were all together working tirelessly for me. Their support throughout is what kept me going on my hard days,” she said.
Narang, whose academy helped shape her early career, also spoke to her before the final.
“He did tell me about me following his footsteps, which again, I’m very grateful to learn from him,” she said.
EIGHT YEARS LATER
Elavenil’s first Asian Games experience came in 2018. Her second, in 2026, produced two silver medals.
“Looking back, yes, 2018 was my first Asian Games. This, 2026 is my second. I have evolved as a person. I’ve learned so much,” she said.
Between the two Games, she competed at two Olympics, World Cups, World Championships and Asian Championships.
“And I think there’s a long way for me to go. I am still learning, still, there’s a lot of learning that’s coming up, and I am just glad that I’m getting this opportunity to learn every single day,” she said.
The 18-year-old who once broke a junior world record had already mastered much of the technical side of shooting. The 27-year-old who won two medals on Sunday has learned more about everything surrounding it — handling finals, managing expectations, dealing with doubt and enjoying the competition.
Her message to young shooters reflects that journey.
“I think my message would be to believe in themselves. I kind of have been doing this, that is to believe in myself because when one starts to believe in themselves, I think there’s no stopping.”
The final 10.1 may remain a reminder of the gold that slipped away. For Elavenil, though, it is primarily another lesson.
“Today’s learning is something that I would be taking today from here, but tomorrow, again, it’s a new day, it’s a new challenge for me,” she said.
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