Asian Games 2026: Elavenil Valarivan Leads India’s Silver Rush, Suchika Tariyal Assures MMA Medal

India opened their medal account at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with two silver medals in shooting on Sunday, while Suchika Tariyal assured the country of another medal in MMA.

Elavenil Valarivan was at the centre of India's shooting success, adding an individual silver to the team silver she had claimed earlier in the day in the women's 10m air rifle event.

The Indian shooter finished the individual final with 252.4 points, narrowly missing out on gold to Japan's Hinata Taichi. Taichi scored 253.0 to claim the title and set a new Asian Games record, while South Korea's Hyojin Ban took bronze with 230.4.

Elavenil remained in contention for the top spot until the final moments of the competition. She was just 0.3 points behind Taichi with two shots remaining and kept the pressure on after recording 10.4, although Taichi responded with 10.6 to extend her advantage to 0.5.

Elavenil needed a big final shot to overturn the deficit, but her 10.1 was not enough. Taichi held her nerve with a 10.2 to secure gold and rewrite the Asian Games record.

Elavenil, Sonam and Vidarsa claim team silver

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, which will be looking to build on the country's record performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where India collected 22 medals — seven gold, nine silver and six bronze.

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 as 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, with Parth Mane, Himanshu Dhillon and Rudrankksh Patil set to compete in the men's 10m air rifle event.

The skeet competition will also begin, with Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad Khan representing India in the men's event. Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Raiza Dhillon and Maheshwari Chauhan will begin India's women's skeet campaign.

With two shooting silvers and a guaranteed MMA medal already secured, India have made an encouraging start to their Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign.