India began its Asian Games shooting campaign on a positive note on Sunday, with Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa Vinod securing the silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle team event.
The medal was India’s first from the shooting ranges at the Games and came after a closely contested qualification round. The Indian trio accumulated 1898.0 points, finishing just ahead of hosts Japan, who took the bronze medal with 1897.1 points. The narrow 0.9-point margin underlined the intensity of the contest for the second spot as Chine secured the first spot.
Sonam produced the highest score among the Indian shooters, registering 634.1 points to finish third in the individual qualification standings. Olympian Elavenil, competing at her third Asian Games, contributed 633.5 points and finished seventh. Vidarsa, making her Asian Games debut, recorded 630.4 points to place 12th.
While Vidarsa did not make the individual final, her score played an important role in India’s team medal. The 27-year-old shooter from Kerala said the result was a significant achievement despite missing out on the individual event.
Vidarsa also displayed confidence under the pressure of her Asian Games debut, saying she remained focused on her shooting rather than being affected by the occasion.
Her performance was particularly notable because she had switched to the 10m air rifle discipline only two months earlier. Her primary event is the 50m rifle 3-positions, but she adapted quickly to the air rifle format and produced a score that helped India stay ahead of Japan. She said she was confident of performing even better in the 50m 3-positions event, her main discipline.
The team medal is determined by the combined qualification scores of the three shooters, with the aggregate deciding the final standings.
India’s campaign also received another boost as Sonam and Elavenil qualified for the individual final. Sonam entered the eight-shooter final after finishing third in qualification, while Elavenil secured her place with a seventh-place finish. Both will have another opportunity to add to India’s medal tally.
The opening-day silver adds to India’s strong record in shooting at the Asian Games. At the 2022 Hangzhou edition, Indian shooters won a record 22 medals – seven gold, nine silver and six bronze – and the team will look to build on that performance in Aichi-Nagoya.
China claimed the gold after setting a new qualification world record with 1904.2 points, surpassing its previous mark of 1902.0 set at the Asian Championships in Shymkent last August. The earlier score had also stood as the Asian record.
Source: PTI