Sports
oi-Gaurav Sharma
India made a strong start to its shooting campaign at the 20th Asian Games, securing two silver medals on the opening day at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
Olympian Elavenil Valarivan led India’s challenge in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event, narrowly missing out on gold after producing a composed performance in the individual final. Elavenil finished with 252.4 points, just 0.6 points behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who claimed gold with 253.0 and set a new Asian Games record.
India earned two silver medals on the first day of shooting at the 20th Asian Games. Elavenil Valarivan secured silver in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle individual event, and the team including Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar, and Vidarsa K. Vinod won silver in the team competition.
South Korea’s Olympic champion Ban Hyojin took the bronze medal with 230.4 points.
Elavenil remained in contention throughout the final and maintained her consistency with a series of high-10 scores. Her Indian teammate Sonam Uttam Maskar also reached the eight-shooter final but finished sixth after being eliminated with a score of 167.0.
India’s second silver came in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle team competition. The Indian trio of Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod combined for a qualification total of 1898.0 points.
Sonam was India’s top performer in qualification, recording 634.1 points. Elavenil contributed 633.5, while Vidarsa added 630.4. Vidarsa finished 12th individually, but her score proved crucial in helping India secure the team silver.
China won the team gold after accumulating 1904.2 points. Its team featured Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu and Du Yuchen. Hosts Japan took the bronze with 1897.1 points.
The shooting schedule continues on Monday with the Men’s 10m Air Rifle individual and team events. Qualification rounds for the men’s and women’s Skeet competitions will also begin at the venue.
