Asian Games 2026: Elavenil, Sonam and Vidarsa Fire India to Team Silver

India opened its shooting campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle events, with Elavenil Valarivan finishing runner-up in the individual competition after winning a team silver earlier in the day.

Elavenil, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod combined for 1,898.0 points to win silver in the team event. China took gold with 1,904.2 points, while hosts Japan secured bronze with 1,897.1.

The Indian trio’s performance gave the country its first medal of the Games. Sonam was India’s highest scorer with 634.1 points, followed by Elavenil with 633.5 and Vidarsa with 630.4. Sonam and Elavenil advanced to the individual final, while Vidarsa, making her Asian Games debut, did not make the top-eight final.

Elavenil then added a second silver in the individual event. She scored 252.4 points in the final to finish behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with 253.0 points and set an Asian Games record. South Korea’s Ban Hyojin won bronze with 230.4 points. Sonam finished sixth with 167.0 points.

The two medals came on the opening day of India’s shooting campaign. The women’s 10m air rifle results were followed by further events in rifle, pistol, skeet and trap disciplines scheduled through the competition.

India had won 22 medals in shooting at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, including seven gold, nine silver and six bronze.

Rifle coach Manoj Kumar said the team prepared for the journey between Nagoya and the shooting venue in Toyota City, which can take around two hours. Shooters were advised to use neck pillows to avoid stiffness and limit phone use to reduce motion sickness.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Elavenil, Sonam and Vidarsa for the team silver and praised their hard work and teamwork. He said their success would inspire athletes in the coming times.

Elavenil’s two silver medals gave India two podium finishes from the women’s 10m air rifle events on the opening day, while the shooting programme continued with more competitions.