CHENNAI: ELAVENIL Valarivan has a penchant for breaking records.
Ever since her days as a junior shooter, she has been one of the certified talents from the country who has repeatedly raised the bar.
The 25-year-old was in her happy space on Tuesday, flirting with the women's 10m air rifle qualification world record before settling for the national record instead at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Munich. In a field that boasted Olympic champions and world beaters, the double Olympian returned with a remarkable 635.9, shattering the previous high of 634.7 which was posted by Nancy in 2023 during the Bhopal World Cup.
Elavenil, a shooter with TN roots, displayed remarkable precision before going on to etch the record mark in the qualification stage. In the highly-competitive eight-woman final, she was equally productive and at one stage, seemed like she would go on to pocket the gold medal. However, one mistake during her 21st shot proved to be her undoing. A 9.8 score (her first shot below 10.1) demoted her to bronze medal instead. This is incidentally India's first medal of this edition of the World Cup.
Teen sensation from China, Wang Zifei, who had earlier posted the qualification world record with an eye-catching score of 637.9, went on to capture gold while South Korea's Kwon Eun-ji grabbed silver.
Gold might have proven to be a step too far for Elavenil, but her coach Neha Chavan, who has been overseeing her development for a long time, was delighted with her record-shattering shooting. Having seen her train up close, Neha is far from surprised with this outcome.
"It was a very good qualification. She had missed out on a medal in the past, she had missed by .1 point in 2019 and she wanted to win this medal in Munich. So this is very special, especially the qualification, she was one point behind the world record. But the Chinese shooter was outstanding. We have something to look forward to now," she told The New Indian Express.
Having interacted with her ward after the match, Neha revealed that Elavenil was pleased with her effort. "She is happy. Before she left for the World Cup, she was quite confident as she was shooting high scores. She was like, 'I'm training well, I'm going to make it to the final and win a medal'. That confidence showed in her competition. In the last couple of shots, she was leading and unfortunately, she missed out on one shot. But that's part of the learning process and something to look forward to."
The standards of shooting have risen massively in the last few years with the scores constantly getting better by the day. "All the best athletes usually participate. The competition is very high. The top-8 was 633 (qualification cut-off mark. To shoot in that setting is good preparation for the World Championships later this year," Neha said.
"It is vital to shoot these scores at the high level as it gives you the confidence so that you can come back and train," she added.
This is technically Elavenil's first competitive shooting at the international level this year. She had competed just for the ranking points during the season-opener in Buenos Aires. Aside from small technical adjustments, Neha revealed that she has been focussing on her physical training. More than anything, it's Elavenil's love for the craft that has helped her maintain her high standards. "Now, as a 25-year-old, you become a little bit more mature to handle. Her motivation has always been great. She has never once said, 'Oh, I don't want to come to the range'. Not once, she has always showed up. She loves the sport and she is very happy."
Her dedication and love for the sport could help her fetch many more records and medals in the years to come.