Asian Games 2026: Shooters Sonam, Elavenil, Vinod power India to first medal, clinch silver in women’s 10m air rifle
Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combined for a total of 1,898.0 points in the team final at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
PTC News Desk: India won its first official medal at the Asian Games 2026 after the women’s 10m air rifle team secured silver in shooting on Sunday.
Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod combined for a total of 1,898.0 points in the team final at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery.
China won the gold medal with 1,904.2 points, while Japan finished third with 1,897.1 points.
Sonam gave India a strong start with a score of 634.1 points. Vidarsa added 630.4 points, while Elavenil, the final Indian shooter, scored 633.5 points to keep India in the medal race.
Sonam and Elavenil qualify for individual final
The team event also served as the qualification round for the individual women’s 10m air rifle final.
Sonam finished third in qualification, while Elavenil secured seventh place. Both shooters qualified for the individual final, which will be held later on Sunday.
How are shooting team medals decided ?
The team medals are decided by adding the qualification scores of all three shooters. The combined score determines the final team standings.
Sonam led India with 634.1 points and finished third in the individual qualification. Elavenil, competing at her third Asian Games, scored 633.5 points to finish seventh.
Vidarsa, making her Asian Games debut, scored 630.4 points and finished 12th. Although she did not qualify for the individual final, her score proved important in India’s silver-medal finish.
Vidarsa delivers under pressure
Vidarsa’s performance was particularly notable because she had started competing in the 10m air rifle event only two months ago.
Her main event is the 50m rifle 3-positions competition, but she quickly adapted to air rifle and produced a score that helped India stay ahead of Japan in a closely fought team contest.
With Sonam finishing third and Elavenil seventh in qualification, India also has two shooters in the eight-member individual final, raising hopes of another medal from the event.