Asian Games 2026: Three days, no shooting gold medal yet as Elavenil-Mane falter in 10m air rifle mixed team

Nagoya, India's shooting campaign hit a bump on Tuesday as Elavenil Valarivan and teenager Parth Mane failed to convert a strong start into a medal, finishing fourth and last in the 10m air rifle mixed team final at the Asian Games here.

The result extended India's wait for a shooting gold after three days of competition, despite the country fielding its strongest 30-member squad and arriving in Nagoya with high expectations following encouraging performances at the World Cups and Asian Championships.

India have so far collected five shooting medals -- four silver and a bronze -- but the elusive gold remains out of reach.


The disappointment was particularly sharp on Tuesday because Valarivan and Mane had looked well placed to challenge for the top prize after qualifying second with 634.6. China topped the qualification with a stunning 638.9, smashing the previous qualification world record by around two points, while South Korea were third with 633.2 and hosts Japan fourth with 631.4.

But the final was a different story.

The Indian pair struggled to find the same rhythm and were out of medal contention after the 18th shot. They managed 103.6 in the opening series and moved to 207.9 after the second before reaching 312.3 after 15 shots, already two points behind South Korea's 314.3.

China, meanwhile, produced another masterclass.

Wang Zifei and Sheng Lihao followed their record-breaking qualification with a world-record 507.1 in the final to take gold. South Korea's Ban Hyojin and Park Hajun claimed silver with 502.9, while Japan's Naoki Hanakawa and Misaki Nobata took bronze.

For India, it was another missed opportunity in a competition where the margins are microscopic but the expectations enormous.

Valarivan had already come agonisingly close to gold on the opening day, winning individual and team silver in the women's 10m air rifle. She had led the individual final for long periods and at one stage held a 1.5-point advantage before settling for silver.

Mane, meanwhile, had been part of the Indian men's 10m air rifle team that won silver on Monday, making Tuesday's mixed team event another opportunity for the pair to add to India's medal tally.

Instead, the final exposed the gap between a strong qualification and delivering when the medals are decided.

"It was more about just getting settled in and doing our best again and following it," Valarivan said after the final.

The Olympian admitted she had struggled to settle into her position.

"I was struggling a bit to settle in the position," she said, before identifying the technical adjustment she felt she needed to make: "I need to be a bit more aggressive with my trigger."

The result also followed another late disappointment for India in the men's 10m air rifle final, where former world champion Rudrankksh Patil had led by as much as 1.1 points before slipping to bronze on Monday.

Taken together, the results underline how quickly fortunes can change at the Asian Games, particularly in air rifle, where a single poor shot can turn a commanding position into a medal-less finish.

China's dominance provided an even starker contrast.

The Chinese have traditionally managed their top shooters carefully through the international calendar, with major multi-sport events carrying particular importance. In Nagoya, their strength was evident from the opening qualification series, with Wang and Sheng setting a world record before producing another in the final.

Their 638.9 in qualification also set a formidable benchmark for the rest of the field.

The presence of Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha in the stands added to the sense of expectation around the final, with India hoping the mixed team pair could finally deliver the shooting contingent's first gold.

That wait will now continue until Wednesday, when double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker enters her favourite women's 10m air pistol event.

Bhaker will be joined by Esha Singh, one of the few shooters to have consistently challenged and beaten her in domestic and international competition, and Suruchi Inder Singh. The trio gives India a formidable combination as the country looks to finally break its shooting gold drought.

After three days of near-misses and silverware, the target is now unmistakable: convert the promise into gold.