Elavenil Valarivan Clinches Second Gold at Rio World Cup

Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan exhibited flawless performance in the women’s 10m air rifle event, securing her second gold at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol competition in Rio. Valarivan maintained remarkable consistency throughout the competition, scoring no less than 10.1 points per shot across 24 rounds. Her outstanding performance culminated in a total score of 252.2, outclassing France’s Oceanne Muller, who settled for silver with 251.9 points, and China’s Zhang Jiale, who secured the bronze.

Valarivan had entered the final as the eighth and final qualifier with a score of 630.5, while Muller topped the qualifiers with 633.7 points. The men’s 10m air rifle event featured India’s Sandeep Singh, who finished 14th in the qualification round with a score of 628.2.

In the mixed team event, Elavenil Valarivan partnered with Sandeep to secure fifth place with a combined score of 629.1. Israel clinched the fourth and final medal spot, narrowly edging out the Indian pair by 0.5 points.

A total of 16 Indian athletes participated in the Rio World Cup across seven Olympic events. Italy leads the medal standings with two gold medals, while India is tied for third place with Armenia.

Elavenil Valarivan’s exceptional performance reaffirms her status as a top-tier shooter on the international stage, bringing pride to India in the ISSF World Cup.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Indian Express