Asian Shooting Championship: Arjun-Elavenil shoot gold in 10m air rifle mixed team event

Indian shooters maintained their sensational form as pair of Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan bagged gold in the 10m air rifle mixed team at the Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on Saturday (August 23). The Indian duo was tested sternly by China's Dingke Lu and Xinlu Peng in the final but refused to buckle under pressure. Despite being behind in the initial rounds, Babuta and Valarivan mounted a stunning comeback to finish 17-11.

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Sensational Elavenil Valarivan

For Elavenil, this win was another feather in an already a stellar campaign. The 26-year-old had already won the women's 10m air rifle individual gold, cementing her place as one of India's most reliable performers at the world stage. Arjun Babuta, on the other hand, displayed his maturing as a world-level marksman, with this medal solidifying his position as a pivotal part of India's shooting team going into major international events. In the 10m air rifle individual event, she shot 253.6 points to secure the top spot, just ahead of China’s Peng Xinlu (253.0) and Korea’s Kwon Eunji (231.2). The victory marked her maiden continental crown. Having already competed at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, Elavenil has repeatedly proven her composure on big stages, reinforcing her reputation as one of Asia’s leading shooters.

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India is comfortably leading the medal tally with 39 medals so far, which includes 21 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze. China is at second position with 19 medals, including nine gold and host Kazakhstan is at third a total of 11 medals, including five gold and six silver.