Elavenil Valarivan had won two gold medals in air rifle in the Asian shooting championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Elavenil Valarivan was one of the star performers in the recent Asian shooting championship in Kazakhstan, as she won the women’s air rifle gold, and the mixed air rifle gold with Arjun Babuta.
The two-time Olympian and only 23 years of age, Elavenil has tons of achievements already in the international circuit.
In fact, she had won the women’s gold in the Asian championship way back in 2019. The cheerful Elavenil, who trains at the Gun For Glory centre in Chennai, at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College campus in Porur, was happy to gauge her progress in an interaction with The Hindu on Wednesday.
“It is more about the maturity that the sport has taught me over the years. Back then in 2019, it was my first year in the senior circuit. Now, I have the patience, enjoy the process and it is fun being in the moment. After the Paris Olympics, I have started enjoying the sport much better,” said Elavenil.
She was pleased with the way she shot the women’s final in Shymkent, after not being at her best in qualification.
“The qualification and final are so different. In the final, you have to be quick. Mehuli Ghosh was also shooting well. I thought we could both be on the podium. It was not to be. I was able to do my best,” recalled Elavenil.
She is generally happy with the way she is shooting, not worrying about the scores or the results.
“I am not worrying about winning or not. I am following the process and staying focused on shooting each shot at my best,” said Elavenil, equally thrilled about her mixed gold.
“Arjun was shooting great. In the gold medal match, we were making up for each other, and supporting each other,” she said, happy to have beaten the Chinese and Koreans for the second time.
She would have loved to shoot the forthcoming World Cup in Ningbo, China, but Elavenil also concedes that others deserve a chance.
“In a way, it is good to have a break and focus on training,” she said.
The focus will be the World Championship in November.
“The goals are set, but one is not worrying about the results. Anyone can do well on a given day. My job is to stay healthy and be strong physically and mentally. My priority is to prepare and perform at my best,” she said.
Like most of the shooters, Elavenil is excited about the Shooting League of India (SLI) scheduled after the World Championship in Delhi.
She hopes to have a lot of fun in the novel format and help the sport grow further.
Published – September 03, 2025 06:42 pm IST
