Why Elavenil Valarivan is a highly-rated shooter in India?
The 21-year-old has several achievements under her belt in her brief career
Elavenil Valarivan has often been referred to as the 'Golden Girl' of Indian shooting. As such she was a big hope for the country in the women's 10m air rifle event at Tokyo 2020, which took place on Saturday.
However, she could not qualify for the final of the event, marking a disappointing start to her Olympic campaign. But she will be gunning for glory in the Mixed Team event on Tuesday along with Divyansh Singh Panwar.
The trust the NRAI has placed on the young shooter is not misplaced. Such has been her form over the years, in the lead-up toTokyo 2020.
In 2019, after a stellar season, she finished the year as World No.1 . She has been so consistent over the years that she was awarded the Tokyo slot without winning a quota. She was selected in the team over pistol shooter Chinki Yadav, who now forms a part of the reserves.
In 2014, Valarivan started shooting seriously after being inducted into Guns for Glory (GFG) Academy, which was established by London 2012 bronze medallist, Gagan Narang. She is coached by Neha Chavan and is also mentored by Narang himself. She won her first-ever medal in shooting at school in a team event which sparked her interest in the sport.
Before that let us have a look at her wins in the international arena so far in her career:
ISSF Junior World Cup
2018
Valarivan won her first gold in an ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney with a score of 249.8 in the finals. Her score of 631.4 in the qualifiers was a new junior qualification world record. It was a phenomenal year for her as she continued her rich vein of form in the next edition of the competition in Suhl, Germany. She bettered her previous score and posted 251.7.
She exceeded all expectations in team events as well. The trio of Zeena Khitta and Shreya Agarwal and Valarivan scored 1876.5 in Sydney which was also a world record. In Suhl, they won a bronze with a score of 1871.
In the mixed team, she won another gold along with Divyansh Panwar in Suhl.
Whereas, in ISSF World Shooting Championships in Changwon she won a silver in her pet category. With four golds, one silver, and one bronze she announced her arrival in the junior section.
2019
Next year, she returned to Suhl in the ISSF Junior World Cup as the defending champion and she did disappoint. Valarivan won gold once again by posting a score of 251.6.
Asian Air Gun Championship
The 2019 Asian Air Gun Championship was held at the Gonxi Shooting range in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Valarivan won gold in both the individual and the team event. In the team event, she played along with Apurvi Chandela and Meghana Sajjanar.
ISSF World Cup
Valarivan's first senior ISSF World Cup gold came in Rio de Janeiro. She scored 251.7 in the finals. She qualified for the finals with a score of 629.4 and trumped her senior compatriots in Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela.
She became the third Indian to win a world cup gold in 10m air rifle after Chandela and Anjali Bhagwat.
In November 2019, she bagged another gold in an ISSF World Cup, this time in Putian, China. Her stellar performances around the year helped her finish at the no.1 spot in the rankings.
In 2021, Valarivan participated in the New Delhi World Cup where she won a gold medal with Divyansh Panwar. They reached the finals with a score of 421.3 where they toppled Hungary's Istvan Peni and Eszter Denes 16-10.