Asian Games 2026: Elavenil, Parth Finish Fourth In 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Final

India's Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, finishing fourth in the final at the Asian Games 2026 on Tuesday.

The Indian duo entered the medal round with confidence after producing a strong performance in qualification, where they finished second with a combined score of 634.6. However, their campaign ended in fourth place after they recorded 376.3 points in Stage 2, Series 1.

China's Wang Zifei and Olympic champion Sheng Lihao dominated the final to claim the gold medal with a world-record score of 507.1. The Republic of Korea's Ban Hyojin and Park Hajun secured silver with 502.9, while Japan's Naoki Hanakawa and Misaki Nobata took bronze with 439.7.

China also topped the qualification round, with Wang and Sheng combining for 638.9, a new qualification world record.

For India, the fourth-place finish extended the wait for a first gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The result was a rare setback in what has otherwise been a memorable Asian Games campaign for Valarivan.

The 27-year-old shooter had already secured two silver medals in the women's 10m air rifle. She first helped India finish second in the team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod before adding an individual silver.

Her individual medal was particularly significant, as Valarivan became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in the women's 10m air rifle individual event.

The mixed team competition provided her with another opportunity to add to her medal tally, but the Indian pair ultimately fell just short of the podium.

For 18-year-old Parth Mane, the fourth-place finish came after an encouraging start to his maiden Asian Games campaign.

Mane was part of India's silver-medal-winning men's 10m air rifle team on Monday, alongside Rudrankksh Patil and Himanshu Dhillon. India finished with 1890.1 points, behind China's world-record total of 1899.0.

Mane also impressed in the individual qualification round, registering 628.3 points to finish 10th. However, he narrowly missed out on a place in the individual final.

The mixed team event once again highlighted the young shooter's potential on the continental stage. Valarivan and Mane's fourth-place finish also marked another step forward for the pair at the international level.

Earlier this year, the duo had finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou. They had entered that final after scoring 634.2 in qualification.

While they could not convert another final appearance into a medal in Aichi-Nagoya, their consistent performances underline India's growing strength in the mixed team format. Shooting has once again emerged as one of India's biggest medal contributors at the Asian Games.

Before Tuesday's mixed team final, India had won six medals at the Games, four silver and two bronze, with five of those medals coming from shooting. Although Valarivan and Mane missed the podium, India's shooters have continued to provide a steady flow of medals and strong performances in Aichi-Nagoya.