Elavenil Valarivan to India Today: ‘Learning is actually more important’

Speaking to India Today, Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan reflected on opening India’s medal account at the Asian Games with two silver medals in the 10m air rifle team and individual events. She described her journey since the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games as an enjoyable one and emphasized the value of continuous learning. Speaking about her performance, Valarivan admitted, “I fumbled a bit at the end” and noted that she needed to work on her pace for the final shots. She attributed the success of the Indian shooting contingent to the strong team confidence, mutual support and inspiration drawn from the younger athletes. Valarivan also emphasized the importance of mental focus in the sport, explaining that success depends on tuning out external distractions and fully concentrating on executing one single shot at a time.