Elavenil Valarivan kicked off India’s medal tally in style, winning two silver medals on Day 1 of the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Sunday, 20 September. The 27-year-old first combined with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod to win silver in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle team event and later bagged another silver in the individual competition.
Bhaskar English was part of a conversation with the double Asian Games medallist, who spoke about her preparations, emulating mentor Gagan Narang’s feat and also the mindset after missing out on the gold medal by a whisker.
Elavenil Valarivan won 2 silver medals on Sunday, 20 September at Asian Games (Credits: Reuters)
‘Lot of learning for me,’ says Elavenil Valarivan on missing gold medal
Elavenil was leading in the final of the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event and looked set to win the gold medal, but unfortunately, she lost control and Japan’s Taichi Hinata went on to win the top prize. While missing the gold was indeed a disappointment, Elavenil reflected on how she would use the opportunity to learn from it.
“There is a bit of disappointment that I was having such a good lead and there was a little portion where I fumbled a bit. But I think the learning is where, again, I would go back to. I mean, I see the scope of learning here for me and I feel that there’s a lot more to learn from the finals that happened today. And I’m just grateful that I’ve got this opportunity to learn,” she said in the interaction.
This Asian Games success for Elavenil has followed years of hard work, setbacks and near misses. The rifle shooter represented India at three major events prior to the Asian Games this year. In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, she failed to make it to the final. The disappointment continued at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well.
The medal drought continued at the Paris Olympics as well. This time, Elavenil went all the way and opened India’s medal tally in style. “2018 was my first Asian Games. This 2026 is my second. I have evolved as a person. I have learned so much,” Elavenil shared.
“I played two Olympics after that and I’ve got a lot of experience from a lot of World Cups, World Championships, Asian Championships and I think I still, have a long way for me to go. I have still been learning. There’s a lot of learning that’s coming up and I’m just glad that I’m getting this opportunity to learn every single day,” she added.
Celebrations at Elavenil Valarivan’s family after her success at Asian Games 2026 (Credits: ANI)
‘Gagan sir video called me after my victory’
Sport is often about fairy tales, and what Elavenil achieved on Sunday, 20 September, was one. Elavenil’s mentor Gagan Narang, one of India’s best shooters, had won silver medals in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle individual and team events at the 2010 Asian Games. 16 years later, she has now won silver medals in the exact same events (women’s) at the Asian Games.
Elavenil Valarivan with Gagan Narang (Credits: Instagram/elavenil.valarivan)
“Following Gagan sir’s footsteps, I think he’s somebody that I’ve always looked up to, and I’m grateful that I’ve got such a mentor who has such vast experience. I think I’m just grateful that I’ve got the opportunity to learn from him and follow in his footsteps,” she said.
Elavenil also had a conversation with Gagan after the victory. “Gagan sir video called me. I was just going for my dope (test), and I took a few minutes off, and I was talking to sir. He did have some really good insights about my finals, and I’m glad that he had that noted down and he could give that to me, and I could work on it.”
“So, yes, I did speak with him. It was a very, very happy call and of course, he did tell me about me following in his footsteps, which, again, I’m very grateful to learn from him,” Elavenil shared.
What would Elavenil like to tell youngsters?
When asked Elavenil as to what message she would like to give to the younger shooters, she kept it simple. “I think my message would be to believe in themselves. I keep telling this because I kind of have lately been doing this, that is, to believe in myself because when one starts to believe in themselves, I think there’s no stopping. Let it be sports, let it be culture, let it be education, let it be whatever field they are choosing to be,” she opined.
