Elavenil, Sonam in 10m final, India clinch team silver

China’s 19-year-old world No. 1 Wang Zifei qualified in first position with an Asian record score of 636.8, surpassing compatriot Liu Yafei’s 635.4, which she hit at last year’s Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Following Wang into the final were South Korean world No.5 Ban Hyojin who scored 634.9 and India’s Sonam Maskar who entered the final on her Games debut with 634.1.

The experienced Elavenil Valarivan made the final in seventh place (633.5) while compatriot and Asian Games debutant Vidarsa Vinod finished 12th with 630.4, missing the cut.

India won seven gold, nine silver and six bronze medals for a total of 22 medals in shooting at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou. Ten of those 22 medals came in individual events but only Sift Kaur Samra (50m 3Positions) and Palak Gulia (10m air pistol) won individual golds. It will be interesting to see if Elavenil or Sonam can finish on the podium.