India win first medal at Asian Games 2026; clinch silver in women's 10m air rifle team event
The Indian team secured second place with a score of 1898.0, behind China.
Indian women’s 10m air rifle team won silver at the Asian Games 2026; this is India’s first medal at Aichi-Nagoya. Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa K Vinod combined for 1898.0 at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery on Sunday, September 20.
MMA fighter Suchika Tariyal had earlier assured India a medal by reaching the semi-finals.
China took gold with 1904.2, a new world record. The previous best was 1902.0, set by Liu Yafei, Peng Xinlu and Zhang Liyuan at last year’s Asian Championships. Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu and Du Yechen were the gold-winning trio.
Japan finished third with 1897.1 points, only 0.9 points behind India. Korea was in contention until the last moment but ended fourth with 1895.8. Cho Eunbyeol’s scores of 103, 104 and 105 in the closing stage proved costly for South Korea, hurting their overall total.
Related: Suchika Tariyal confirms India’s first medal at Asian Games 2026
Zifei opened with a score of 636.8 in the first relay, narrowly missing the qualification world record of 637.9 that she herself set in June 2025. Korea’s Ban Hyojin scored 634.9 in the same relay. Sonam and Elavenil will now shoot in the eight-woman individual final at 11:00 am IST, while Vidarsa misses the cut.
How the three Indians scored
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Sonam led India with 634.1 and finished in the top four in individual qualification. She is making her Asian Games debut. Elavenil, a world championship medallist and Asian champion in 2025 and 2026, scored 633.5 for seventh place after slipping to eighth at the start of her final series.
Vidarsa opened with 105.9 and shot 106.2 in her fourth series, but a 104.4 in the sixth dropped her to ninth. She ended 12th with 630.4. The three totals add up to India’s 1898.0.
India’s 30-member shooting squad enjoyed a highly successful campaign at Hangzhou 2022, returning with 22 medals—7 gold, 9 silver and 6 bronze. However, on Sunday, the women’s 10m air rifle was the only shooting event on the programme.
Which medal did India win in the women’s 10m air rifle team event at Asian Games 2026?
India won silver with a total of 1898.0. The team was Sonam Uttam Maskar, Elavenil Valarivan and Vidarsa K Vinod. It is the first medal India have won at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Who won gold and bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle team event?
China won gold with 1904.2, a new world record. The trio was Wang Zifei, Han Jiayu and Du Yechen. Japan took bronze with 1897.1, which was 0.9 points behind India. Korea finished fourth with 1895.8.
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