From Athletics To Olympic Shooter: Meet Elavenil Valarivan

Elavenil Valarivan is one of India's leading sport shooters and a specialist in the women's 10m air rifle event. A two-time Olympian and Arjuna Award winner, she has established herself among the country's most accomplished rifle shooters.

Born on August 2, 1999, in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, Valarivan moved to Ahmedabad with her family when she was three. She initially competed in athletics before taking up shooting at the age of 13 in 2012.

What began as an activity for fun soon developed into a professional career. By 2014, Valarivan had begun training seriously and was eventually selected for India's shooting squad in 2016.

How did Elavenil Valarivan become a shooter?

Valarivan was introduced to shooting by her cousin and initially treated it as a recreational activity. She began full-time training in 2014.

Her breakthrough came at the junior level. In 2018, she won gold at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney and set a junior world record of 631.4 in the 10m air rifle qualification.

She also became the first Indian woman to win the prestigious ISSF World Cup Final in the 10m air rifle event when she triumphed in Putian in 2019.

Her rise through the ranks earned her a place among India's leading shooters and she received the Arjuna Award in 2022.

Elavenil Valarivan's Olympics record

Valarivan has represented India at two Olympic Games.

She made her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, finishing 16th in the women's 10m air rifle qualification and 12th in the mixed team event.

At Paris 2024, she finished 10th in the women's 10m air rifle qualification and 12th alongside India's mixed team.

While an Olympic medal has remained elusive, her international record includes multiple major titles and podium finishes.

Major achievements and medals

Valarivan has built an extensive record across the ISSF circuit and continental championships.

Her notable achievements include:

• 2026 Asian Championships - Gold, women's 10m air rifle
• 2026 Asian Championships - Gold, 10m air rifle mixed team
• 2025 Asian Championships - Gold, women's 10m air rifle
• 2023 ISSF World Cup, Rio de Janeiro - Gold, women's 10m air rifle
• 2019 ISSF World Cup, Rio de Janeiro - Gold, women's 10m air rifle
• 2019 ISSF World Cup Final, Putian - Gold, women's 10m air rifle
• 2022 ISSF World Cup - Gold, women's air rifle team
• 2021 ISSF World Cup, New Delhi - Gold, mixed team
• 2019 Asian Championships - Gold, women's 10m air rifle

According to the ISSF athlete database, Valarivan has won four World Cup gold medals, alongside further silver and bronze medals, as well as multiple Asian Championship titles.

Elavenil Valarivan at Asian Games 2026

Valarivan opened her Asian Games 2026 campaign with a silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod.

Elavenil adds Asian Games individual silver to team medal

Elavenil Valarivan followed her team silver with an individual silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle at the Asian Games 2026, giving India a second medal in shooting on Sunday.

The Cuddalore-born shooter led the eight-woman final for much of the contest and remained in medal contention through the elimination rounds. She entered the final two shots with a narrow 0.3-point advantage over Japan's Taichi, but a 10.4 followed by a 10.1 allowed her rival to close the gap. Taichi eventually produced a 10.2 with her final shot to finish on 253.0, a new Asian Games record, while Elavenil settled for silver.

Earlier in the morning, Elavenil had also been part of India's silver-medal-winning women's 10m air rifle team alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod. She finished seventh in qualification with 633.5 to join Sonam in the individual final, while Vidarsa finished 12th.

The two medals add to Elavenil's growing record at major international competitions and underline her importance to India's shooting contingent at Aichi-Nagoya.

## What is Elavenil Valarivan's world ranking?

The ISSF database lists Valarivan at No. 7 in the world in the women's 10m air rifle rankings.

Her personal bests listed by the ISSF include a qualification score of 635.9 and a final score of 253.6.

She is coached by Neha Chavan, with Deepali Deshpande and Deepak Dubey listed as national coaches.

What is Elavenil Valarivan's background?

Valarivan studied English and has listed reading and driving among her hobbies. Before committing to shooting, she was involved in athletics, including long-distance running and sprinting.

As a teenager, she balanced school with demanding training schedules. Her early coach Neha Chavan recalled that Valarivan would wake up around 4:30am to reach training by 5:30am before school, before returning for another session in the evening.

That early commitment laid the foundation for a career that has since taken her to two Olympics, multiple World Cup titles and the top of the world rankings. At 27, Valarivan remains one of the central figures in India's 10m air rifle programme.