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.
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! 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 remarkable achievement has brought pride to the nation and given Team India a strong start at the Games, he said.
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.
{{/usCountry}}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.
{{/usCountry}}China bettered its own previous mark of 1902.0, set at the Asian Championships in Shymkent in August last year, a record that had also stood as the Asian record.
Japan finished third with 1897.1, just 0.9 points adrift of India, after a tense contest for the silver.
The team medals are decided based on the qualification scores of the three shooters, with the aggregate determining the final standings.
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.
Elavenil entered the final two shots just 0.3 points behind Taichi and remained in contention after shooting 10.4 to the Japanese shooter's 10.6, which stretched the gap to 0.5.
Needing a strong final shot to turn the tables, Elavenil managed 10.1, but Taichi held her nerve with a 10.2 to seal the gold and set a new Asian Games record.
This silver was Elavenil's second medal of the day after she helped India win silver in the women's 10m air rifle team event earlier on Sunday, alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod.
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