New Delhi: It seems not too long back when Elavenil Valarivan broke onto the national scene with a gold medal at the 2019 Putian World Cup. Then 19, Ela was the baby of the team, and many of her coaches and contemporaries marked her out as a precocious talent. Elite shooting, however, is an increasingly demanding pursuit and very few shooters possess the consistency to stay on top in consecutive Olympic cycles.
Ela discovered that the hard way, even though she was good enough to make the team for the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. There were intermittent spikes — such as the individual gold at the Rio World Cup in 2023 — but it was clear that the former world No.1 rifle shooter had hit a wall. She would still find the podium in team competitions, but success in the individual events dried up fast. Between 2021 and 2024, she managed just one medal in individual events besides the Rio gold — a silver at last year’s Asian Championships in Jakarta.
“I stagnated for 2-3 years,” the 26-year-old admitted. “I was hitting the same kind of scores, 630 or thereabouts. I would shoot the same in national events, international events, trials…everywhere. That went against me. It’s a decent score but not the kind that will help me run away with the lead.”
That period also saw her miss the Hangzhou Asian Games where Ramita Jindal won the bronze. With Ashi Chouksey and Mehuli Ghosh around, the clock was ticking for Ela. Her indifferent form was also down to her health condition that had her losing considerable weight. She tried changing her kit and shoes, but the change finally happened when she decided to unclutter her mind.
“After all the futile experiments with kits and shoes, it all came down to being myself on the lane. I went back to basics, started redoing things that had got me success. I made an effort to not let expectations get to me,” she said.
Ela ended the prolonged lull in style last month, winning her first individual gold at the Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. What made the victory sweeter was that she beat a Chinese and a Korean shooter to the top spot with a championship record score of 253.6.
“The competition is excellent at the Asian level and all top countries were represented in Kazakhstan. To do well in a quality field was very satisfying,” she said.
A bronze in the women’s team event and a gold in the mixed team event followed, indicating that the Chennai-based shooter had found her groove again. She puts it down to unburdening herself from expectations and rediscovering the joy of playing the sport.
“I think I am at a point in my sport where I’ve really started to enjoy it. It’s beyond the pressure to perform, it is more about enjoying the sport. It is one big change in my mindset and I’m really glad that I am getting to experience it for the first time,” added Ela, who is supported by Guns for Glory academy.
Post Paris reboot
The Indian shooting contingent finally broke its 12-year duck at the Paris Games but Ela failed to make the finals in her second successive Olympics. Ramita was India’s lone finalist in the 10m rifle while Ela, who was in the mid-table for most of the qualification round, paid the price for a sub-par final series.
Disappointment notwithstanding, Ela reckons it was one of the best matches of her career. “I loved the way I shot in Paris. I think I handled the pressure well. It was one of the best matches I have ever played,” she remembered.
Once back, she went on a short break to Sri Lanka and Dubai and returned to the range with renewed purpose. She finished fourth after the first set of selection trials (T1 and T2) and travelled to Buenos Aires for year’s first World Cup (RPO) in April.
She ramped up her performance in Trials 3 and 4 to finish second and made the Asian Championships squad. “The level of domestic competition in India is brilliant. It is as good, if not better, than most international meets. To do well there was a huge confidence boost,” she said.
Next on the radar are the selection trials (T5 and T6) later this month followed by Cairo World Championships in November. Back in top gear, Ela hopes to make her form count.
