Elavenil Valarivan wins silver in women's 10m air rifle final at Asian Games 2026

Elavenil finished second behind Japan's Hinata Taichi, who won the gold medal, while South Korea's Ban Hyojin secured the bronze medal.

Elavenil entered the final in impressive form and took the lead after the first series with a score of 53.1. Sonam Maskar, the other Indian shooter in the final, finished her opening series with 52.1 and was placed seventh.

After 10 shots, Elavenil remained on top with a score of 106.0, while Sonam registered 104.2 to sit in joint fifth place.

As the elimination rounds began, Elavenil continued her consistent performance with a 10.6 in her first shot. She followed it with a 10.3, while Sonam also produced strong shots, including a 10.6 and a 10.7. After 12 shots, Elavenil led the standings with 126.9, while Sonam was fourth with 125.4. South Korea's Yuna Kwan was eliminated.

Elavenil maintained her dominance in the final stages, hitting 10.8 and 10.7 in her next two shots to extend her lead with a score of 148.4 after 14 shots. Sonam was fourth at that stage, while China's Jiayu Han was eliminated.

In the next series, Elavenil scored 10.7 and 10.5 to remain at the top, while Sonam's 9.9 followed by 10.5 saw her finish sixth in the final.

Elavenil continued her excellent run with a 10.6 in her 17th shot and a 10.1 in her 18th to lead with 190.3 points. She remained ahead after 20 shots with a score of 211.1, with Japan's Hinata Taichi close behind at 210.8.

The Indian shooter was in medal contention after the 21st shot, where she scored 10.5, but Hinata and South Korea's Ban Hyojin kept the pressure on. After 22 shots, Elavenil moved to second place with a score of 231.9, behind Hinata's 232.2.

With the final shot, Elavenil scored 10.1, while Hinata finished with 10.2 to secure the gold medal. Elavenil settled for silver after a strong display in the final.

Earlier, India opened their medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle team event, as Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod finished second.

In other events, Suchika Tariyal secured a medal in women's traditional 60kg MMA after defeating Mongolia's Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the quarterfinal, while India's women's hockey team began their campaign with a dominant 19-0 win over Uzbekistan. The women's table tennis team also registered a 3-0 victory over Indonesia in their Group F match. (ANI)