I relaxed a bit, but gave my best: Elavenil

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Indian rifle shooter Elavenil Valarivan who won two silver medals in the 10M Air Rifle event at the Asian Games in Japan on September 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

It was not a silver won but a gold lost for Elavenil Valarivan at the Aichi General Shooting Gallery on Sunday, the 27-year-old letting a sure title chance slip away by easing up too early in the final.

The wide smile she had after the event could not hide the ‘what ifs’ running through her mind. “Somewhere I knew I was in the top three and although I was coming back to my process and techniques, I did get a bit relaxed. I really need to work on my [game in] finals. But I think I gave my absolute best,” Elavenil said.

It was a candid admission by someone making her return to the Asian Games after an eight-year break, having missed out on the previous edition.

“I was getting a little easy on my process, so I think I will have to get back and work on it more. It’s been like this post Paris [Olympics]. I am grateful I have been getting a lot of opportunities to learn, experiment and utilise my potential to the absolute best,” she added.

Sonam Maskar, who had only one bad shot of 9.9 through her entire competition and crashed out of medal contention, reacted similarly. “I am not disappointed but I feel it could have been a better shot. I will work on it... I have to focus more on the process, work more on how to do better in finals.”

Vidarsa K. Vinod, meanwhile, was happy with her performance despite missing out on the final. “The light is very less compared to Delhi or Bhopal but overall, the range is fine. I am a bit disappointed on not making the final but I fought hard,” she said.

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