Elavenil stayed in constant touch with her coach and psychologist before the individual final
Winning team silver motivated Elavenil and Sonam to push for another medal
Elavenil said she entered the final with “full grit and courage”
Elavenil Valarivan had already achieved something special at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games before stepping into the individual 10m air rifle final. Earlier in the day, she had teamed up with Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod to win silver in the women’s team event.
But there was little time to celebrate, with Elavenil and Sonam both having to return to the range for the individual final. The Indian shooter eventually added another silver, finishing with 252.4 points, just 0.6 behind Japan’s Hinata Taichi, who set a new Asian Games record with 253.0.
‘It’s Time For The Second One’: Elavenil Reveals Her Mindset
Speaking to us after her double-silver performance, Elavenil explained how she avoided allowing the first medal to create a sense of relaxation before the individual competition.
“I think, I'd been in constant calls with my coach and my psychologist throughout, before my competition, before the finals as well. Of course, we knew that we had won the team silver before we went for the finals.”
Rather than viewing the team medal as a reason to ease off, Elavenil and Sonam used it as an additional source of motivation. The two shooters were both competing in the individual final and were sitting next to each other when they received the news of their team medal.
“And again, that was a motivation for both of us, Sonam and me, because we were both in the finals and we were sitting besides each other when we got the news. So, it was again an added motivation for us that we have already won one medal. It’s time for the second one.”
The quick mental reset proved important as Elavenil remained in contention for gold deep into the final. She led for much of the competition before Taichi produced a decisive finish.
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Elavenil Credits Grit And Courage For Second Silver
The 27-year-old said the focus was ultimately on carrying the same determination into the individual event rather than dwelling on what had already been achieved.
“And we just went on with the full grit and the courage what we had for the finals.”
The two medals marked Elavenil’s first Asian Games podium finishes after previous appearances at the Games. She also dedicated her medals to the support staff who had worked with her in preparation for the competition, highlighting the role of her coach, psychologist, nutritionist, mentor and strength-and-conditioning team.
