India made a strong start to its medal campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Sunday (September 20), securing two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle events. Experienced shooter Elavenil Valarivan played a starring role in both performances.
Team Silver – India’s First Medal of the Games
In the women’s 10m air rifle team event, Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Asian Games debutant Vidarsa Vinod combined for a total of 1898.0 points to claim silver.
China won gold with a world-record score of 1904.2.
Hosts Japan took bronze with 1897.1.
Sonam led the Indian scoring with 634.1, followed by Elavenil (633.5) and Vidarsa (630.4). This marked India’s first medal of the 2026 Asian Games from the shooting ranges.
Individual Silver for Elavenil Valarivan
Later in the day, Elavenil added an individual silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle final.
She finished with a score of 252.4, just 0.6 points behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record of 253.0. South Korea’s Ban Hyo-jin (Olympic champion) took bronze with 230.4. India’s Sonam Maskar finished sixth.
Elavenil was in contention for gold for most of the final but saw the lead slip in the closing stages as Taichi held her nerve.
The double silver on the opening day provided a positive start for India’s shooting contingent. For Elavenil, the medals marked her first Asian Games podium finishes in the 10m air rifle event after previous appearances in 2018 and 2022.
India’s shooting team will look to build on this momentum in the coming days of the competition in Japan.