Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday congratulated women shooters after they won silver medals at the Asian Games, and said that the “remarkable achievement” has given Team India a strong start at the Games.
Elavenil Valarivan then added an individual silver to the team silver she won earlier in the day, finishing runner-up in the women’s 10-m air rifle event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday. The 2025 world championship bronze medallist shot 252.4 points in the final to finish behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who won gold with an Asian Games record 253.0. South Korea’s Hyojin Ban took bronze with 230.4.
In a post on X, Adityanath said, “India’s medal account at the Asian Games 2026 has opened with two Silver Medals in Women’s 10-m Air Rifle! India’s shooting campaign at the Asian Games in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya got off to a flying start on Sunday as Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa Vinod combined to win the silver medal in the women’s 10-m air rifle team event, giving the country its first medal from the shooting ranges. The Indian trio produced a strong collective performance to finish second with an aggregate score of 1898.0, behind a dominant Chinese team that shattered the qualification world record with 1904.2 points.
Heartiest congratulations to Elavenil Valarivan on winning Silver in the individual event, following her Silver in the team event alongside Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa K Vinod. The team medals are decided based on the qualification scores of the three shooters, with the aggregate determining the final standings.
The remarkable achievement has brought pride to the nation and given Team India a strong start at the Games, he said.
