Asian Games 2026: Elavenil Valarivan Wins Two Shooting Silvers, Suchika Tariyal Secures Historic MMA Medal

India Opens Medal Account with Shooting Success

India began their campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Sunday with two silver medals in shooting. Elavenil Valarivan was at the center of India’s success, winning an individual silver in the women’s 10m air rifle event. She had earlier helped India win a team silver in the same discipline. Later in the day, Suchika Tariyal assured India of another medal by reaching the semifinals of the women’s Traditional MMA 60kg competition.

Elavenil Valarivan’s Individual Silver

Elavenil finished the individual final with 252.4 points. She narrowly missed out on gold to Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who scored 253.0 to win the title and set a new Asian Games record. South Korea’s Hyojin Ban took bronze with 230.4 points. Elavenil stayed in contention for the top spot until the final moments. She was just 0.3 points behind Taichi with two shots remaining. After Taichi scored 10.6 to extend her lead to 0.5, Elavenil needed a big final shot to overturn the deficit. Her 10.1 was not enough, and Taichi held her nerve with a 10.2 to secure gold and rewrite the Asian Games record.

Team Silver for India

Earlier on Sunday, Elavenil had helped India secure their first medal of the Games in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition. The Indian trio of Elavenil, Sonam Maskar, and Vidarsa Vinod finished with a combined score of 1898.0 points to take silver. China claimed gold, while Japan finished fourth. Elavenil was India’s top performer in the team event, registering 633.5 points to qualify for the individual final. Sonam also progressed to the final and finished sixth with 167.0 points. The result provided an early boost to India’s shooting contingent.

Suchika Tariyal Assures Historic MMA Medal

India’s medal tally increased further with Suchika Tariyal reaching the semifinals of the women’s Traditional MMA 60kg competition. The Indian fighter defeated Mongolia’s Altanchimeg Baigalmaa in the quarterfinals to book her place in the last four and guarantee herself a medal. Tariyal’s achievement is historic for Indian MMA because the sport is making its Asian Games debut at Aichi-Nagoya. Her semifinal qualification has therefore secured India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in MMA.

More Shooting Action on Monday

India’s shooting campaign will continue on Monday. Parth Mane, Himanshu Dhillon, and Rudrankksh Patil are set to compete in the men’s 10m air rifle event. The skeet competition will also begin. Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, and Mairaj Ahmad Khan will represent India in the men’s event. Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon, and Maheshwari Chauhan will begin India’s women’s skeet campaign.

India’s Strong Start

With two shooting silvers and a guaranteed MMA medal already secured, India have made an encouraging start to their Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 campaign. The shooting contingent will be looking to build on the country’s record performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where India collected 22 medals in shooting, including seven gold, nine silver, and six bronze. The coming days will see more events, and India will hope to add to their medal tally across multiple sports.

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