Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 28 (ANI): Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi felicitated shooter Elaveni Valarivan for her exceptional performances at the ongoing Asian Games this year in Aichi-Nagoya.
Valarivan was honoured by Deputy CM Sanghavi with a cheque of Rs 1.33 crore under the Sports Talent Award Scheme for winning two silver medals in rifle shooting at the Asian Games 2026.
As per a press note from the Deputy CM's office, Sanghavi also expressed the government's committment to promoting sporting talent and preparing athletes for global competitions.
Valarivan won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod before clinching another silver in the individual women’s 10m air rifle event on the same day.
Elavenil first teamed up with Maskar and Vinod in the women’s 10m air rifle team event on September 20, where the trio secured silver with a qualification aggregate score of 1898.0 points. She later added an individual silver in the 10m air rifle event on the same day. Elavenil remained in contention for gold for much of the individual final, but Japan’s Hinata Taichi held her nerve in the closing stages to claim the top spot.
So far, India has won 39 medals at the Asian Games, including four gold medals, 17 silver medals and 18 bronze medals.
Esha Singh won the silver medal in the women's 25m pistol final at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday after a dramatic series of shoot-offs against China's Xiao Jiaruixian.
She finished with 38 points, level with Xiao, who eventually won the gold medal after the second shoot-off. North Korea's Kim Hyon Suk claimed the bronze with 34 points.
The Indian shooter began the final strongly, hitting all five targets in the opening series to take the early lead. She followed it with four hits in the second series to remain at the top after 10 shots.
She then dropped to second after a three-hit series, as Xiao moved into the lead with 13 points. Esha responded with four hits in the next series to move level with Xiao at 16 points after 20 shots.
Esha and Xiao remained tied on 20 points after 25 shots, with Kim also joining them at the top. However, Esha slipped to third after the next series before producing a crucial five-hit series to ensure herself a medal.
With Xiao and Kim tied on 32 points and Esha on 31 after 40 shots, the Indian shooter needed another strong finish. Esha and Kim eventually went into a shoot-off to decide the silver and bronze medals.
Both shooters recorded three hits in the first two shoot-off series, before Esha prevailed in the next round with three hits against Kim's two, securing at least a silver medal.
Esha then faced Xiao in the gold-medal shoot-off. Both shooters finished with 38 points after the regular final and the first shoot-off, forcing another five-shot contest.
Xiao eventually prevailed by the narrowest of margins, hitting three targets compared to Esha's two in the deciding shoot-off, leaving the Indian with the silver medal. (ANI)
Gujarat Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi honours Elavenil for double medal run at Asian Games 2026
