Nagoya, September 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan has already turned her attention to the next challenge after a memorable double-silver performance at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with the 10m air rifle specialist set to compete in the mixed team event.
Elavenil enjoyed a productive Sunday at the Aichi Pref. General Shooting Gallery, helping India win silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event before adding another silver in the individual competition.
Despite the achievement, the shooter said she would take the lessons from the day’s competitions but approach the mixed team event with a fresh mindset.
“I think, of course, today’s success is something that I would… Today’s learning is something that I would be taking from here today. But tomorrow again, it’s a new day; it’s a new challenge for me,” Elavenil said during a media interaction.
“We have the pre-event training tomorrow, and we have the mixed doubles match day after. So my goal is just to leave this off, take the learning from today’s event and head on to the next one,” she added.
Elavenil said she did not want celebrations around her two medals to distract her from the competition still ahead, pointing out that she would have enough time to celebrate after returning home.
“Of course, there is plenty of time for me once I am back at my home to celebrate,” she said.
The Indian shooter also used the occasion to share a message with young athletes and shooters, urging them to develop confidence in their own abilities.
“My message would be to believe in themselves. I mean, I keep telling this because I kind of have lately been doing this, that is, believing in myself, because when one starts to believe in themselves, I think there is no stopping,” she said.
“Let it be sports, let it be culture, let it be education, let it be whatever field they are choosing to be. If they have the trust in themselves that they can achieve what they want, I think that is the biggest takeaway that I can give,” she added.
Elavenil had earlier come close to winning individual gold, leading for much of the final before Japan’s Hinata Taichi produced a decisive finish to claim the title with an Asian Games record score of 253.0. Elavenil finished with 252.4.
She had also combined with Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K. Vinod to help India secure silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event.
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