Elavenil Valarivan: From a Chance Encounter With Shooting to Double Silver at Asian Games 2026

There was no grand plan when Elavenil Valarivan first picked up a rifle at the age of 12. She was simply accompanying her father to a shooting range when she was encouraged to try the sport. Another girl at the range had a spare rifle and handed it to her.

That moment would eventually change the course of her life.

More than a decade later, Valarivan is a two-time Olympian, a former junior world-record holder, an ISSF World Cup champion, an Arjuna Award recipient and, now, a double silver medallist at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.

Her latest chapter came in Japan, where she produced two podium finishes in the women's 10m air rifle events and once again demonstrated her ability to compete at the highest level.

Valarivan began her Asian Games campaign as part of India's women's 10m air rifle team alongside Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod. The trio produced a combined score of 1898.0 points to win the silver medal. China claimed gold with 1904.2 points, a new world-record score, while hosts Japan finished third with 1897.1.

India's margin over Japan was just 0.9 points, underlining how closely contested the team competition was. Sonam Maskar was India's highest scorer in qualification with 634.1 points, while Valarivan contributed 633.5. Asian Games debutant Vidarsa K Vinod added 630.4.

For Valarivan, the team silver was her first medal of the Games. But she was not finished.

She subsequently qualified for the women's 10m air rifle individual final, setting up another opportunity to compete for a medal.

Silver after a dramatic individual final

In the individual final, Valarivan finished with 252.4 points to claim another silver medal. She had been in the lead deep into the final and remained in pole position after 19 rounds. However, the closing stages dramatically changed the standings, with Japan's Taichi Hinata moving ahead to take gold with 253.0.

Valarivan eventually settled for silver, finishing just 0.6 points behind the gold-medal position. South Korea's Ban Hyojin took bronze with 230.4.

While gold ultimately slipped away in the final few shots, the result gave Valarivan her second silver medal of the Asian Games and took her personal medal tally in Aichi-Nagoya to two. It was also another reminder of the fine margins that define elite shooting. After remaining in contention for the top position for much of the final, a handful of shots ultimately separated Valarivan from the gold medal.

The journey started almost by accident

Valarivan's success becomes even more remarkable when viewed against the circumstances in which her shooting career began. At 12, she had no intention of becoming an elite shooter. Her visit to a shooting range with her father was simply an opportunity to try something different.

But the sport quickly captured her attention. By the age of 15, Valarivan had decided to pursue shooting professionally. The commitment required to develop as an athlete meant travelling roughly 30 kilometres from her home in Ahmedabad to a school in Sanand that had a shooting range.

The long journeys were part of a larger commitment that would eventually take her onto the international stage.

The breakthrough arrived in spectacular fashion in 2018. At just 18, Valarivan travelled to Sydney for the ISSF Junior World Cup. The Indian squad had faced travel difficulties and arrived on the day of her event, but Valarivan put those circumstances aside once competition began.

She broke the junior world record in qualification before going on to win gold in the 10m air rifle. The performance established her as one of the most promising young shooters in the world. Later that year, she won another Junior World Cup gold medal and also secured silver at the Junior World Championships.

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The transition to senior competition followed in 2019, and Valarivan immediately began competing against some of the world's best shooters. She won gold at the ISSF World Cup Final in China and added another major title at the Asian Airgun Championships.

Her performances were subsequently recognised with the Arjuna Award in 2022.

From World No. 1 to another Olympic cycle

Valarivan's career has also included its share of setbacks. During the period surrounding the Tokyo Olympics, she reached World No. 1 in the women's 10m air rifle rankings. Yet despite that status, she missed India's squad for the 2022 Asian Games.

Her response was to continue working toward another Olympic appearance. She had already competed at Tokyo 2020, and by 2024 she had secured qualification for her second Olympic Games. At Paris 2024, she finished 10th in the women's 10m air rifle competition. Now, at the age of 26, she has added another major chapter to her career at the Asian Games.

Valarivan's Aichi-Nagoya campaign is significant not simply because she won two silver medals, but because of the journey behind them.

The girl who first held a rifle because someone at a shooting range offered her one has gone on to compete at two Olympic Games, break a junior world record, win international titles and become one of India's most experienced 10m air rifle shooters.

At these Asian Games, she combined that experience with the energy of younger teammates to help India win its first medal of the Games.

Then she returned to the range and came within 0.6 points of individual gold.

The medals may be silver, but they represent another milestone in a career built over years of training, competition and perseverance.

From a chance visit to a shooting range at 12 to two Asian Games silver medals in Aichi-Nagoya, Elavenil Valarivan's journey continues to add remarkable chapters to the story of Indian shooting.