Disappointment for India’s Shooting Pair at Asian Games 2026

India’s Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Rakesh Mane finished fourth in the 10m air rifle mixed team final at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Tuesday. The Indian pair scored 376.3 points but missed out on a medal.

The duo entered the final after a strong qualification performance. However, they could not maintain enough momentum during the medal round and finished last among the four finalists. China, South Korea and Japan took the top three positions.

India started the final in fourth place after the opening series. The pair scored 103.6 points from their first 10 shots, while China led with 107.2 points. South Korea was second with 104.9 points and Japan was third with 103.9 points.

The Indian pair remained within touching distance of the medal positions during the early stages. However, they were unable to close the gap as the competition progressed, eventually finishing with 376.3 points.

For Valarivan, the fourth-place finish came after an impressive start to her Asian Games campaign. She had already won two silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle events. She won silver in the team event alongside Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod and later claimed individual silver with a score of 252.4 points.

The mixed team event therefore ended without another medal for Valarivan. Despite the result, her two earlier silver medals have made her one of India’s leading performers in the shooting competition at these Games.

India also faced a narrow disappointment in karate. Chetan Bhatt lost the men’s 84kg kumite bronze-medal match against Chinese Taipei’s Meng-yu Chung. The bout ended level, but Chung won on the Senshu rule, which gives an advantage to the athlete who scores first when the match is tied.

India’s athletes continued to compete across several other disciplines, with the contingent looking to add more medals as the Asian Games progress. The mixed rifle result was a setback, but India’s shooting campaign has already produced multiple medals through Valarivan and other shooters.