Elavenil Valarivan Leads India's Golden Run at Asian Shooting Championship

In a sensational display of skill and determination, India's shooting contingent shone brightly at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship held in New Delhi. Elavenil Valarivan captured the limelight, triumphing in the 10m Air Rifle women's event amidst a tough challenge from Japan's Misaki Nobata to clinch the gold medal. The event at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range also witnessed Shambhavi Kshirsagar breaking the Asian Junior Finals Record, securing victory in the junior category. Meghana Sajjanar added to the celebration by taking the bronze, while Indian shooters swept the junior podium.

India continued to assert its dominance on the fourth day of the competition, amassing a total of ten gold medals and thereby increasing their medal tally to an impressive 43 medals, comprising 27 gold, 10 silver, and eight bronze. Ojasvi Thakur emerged victorious in the women's youth category, enhancing India's medal count. The day also started brightly with a clean sweep in the 50m Men's Pistol event, where former World No. 1 Saurabh Chaudhary conquered the gold, followed by Kamaljeet Chaudhary and current World Champion Ravinder Singh claiming silver and bronze, respectively. The junior category saw Yogesh Kumar at the forefront, bagging gold.

Elavenil's journey to the top was not without challenges. Positioned fifth after two series, she clawed her way back to the lead by the 18th shot, displaying nerves of steel to maintain her position till the end. Her performance was complemented by an Indian team display that garnered them the team gold with a combined score of 1892.6. In a record-setting performance, Shambhavi's triumph in the Junior finals, with a score of 253.7, eclipsed the previous Asian record, cementing her reputation with an astonishing consistency in her shots. Similarly, Ojasvi Thakur added another gold in the youth category, leaving no doubt about India's prowess on the shooting range.