Two-time Olympian Elavenil Valarivan won gold in Women’s 10m Air Rifle at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Friday.
The 26-year-old scored 253.6 in the final, edging out China’s Peng Xinlu (253.0) by a narrow margin, while Korea’s Kwon Eunji settled for bronze with 231.2.
This marks Valarivan’s second Asian title, following her first gold in 2019 at Taoyuan, and adds to a career that already includes multiple ISSF World Cup gold medals.
Fellow Indian shooter Mehuli Ghosh finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium. In the team event, the Indian trio of Elavenil, Mehuli, and Ananya Naidu secured a bronze medal with a combined score of 1891.0. China won gold with a world record of 1902.0, while South Korea claimed silver with 1897.5.
In the qualification round, Valarivan placed eighth with a score of 630.7 to enter the final. Ghosh, who originally finished 10th with 630.3, qualified after two higher-placed Indian shooters — Arya Borse (633.2) and Sonam Maskar (630.5) — were ineligible for the final as they were competing under Ranking Points Only (RPO) status.
Ananya Naidu narrowly missed the final cutoff with 630.0, but her score helped secure the team bronze.
Despite being RPO participants, Borse and Maskar impressed in the qualification round, placing fifth and ninth, respectively.
Having represented India at both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics, Valarivan continues to reinforce her position as one of India’s most accomplished rifle shooters.
With this performance, India’s medal tally in senior events at the 2025 Asian Shooting Championships has climbed to 10 medals — three gold, one silver, and six bronze — placing the country second in the standings behind shooting powerhouse China.