Elavenil Valarivan poses with her silver medal after arriving at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Friday, September 25
The 25-year-old shooter, who lives in Ahmedabad’s Maninagar area, has been associated with Gujarat’s Shaktidoot scheme since 2017-18 and currently figures in its ‘A’ category. The state govt said she has received Rs 1.3 crore under the Shaktidoot and Olympic promotion schemes and another Rs 74 lakh through DLSS and Khel Mahakumbh schemes, taking the total assistance to Rs 2.4 crore. Valarivan represented India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. She won gold at the 2019 ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro with a score of 251.7. The athlete’s achievements also include medals at the Junior World Cups in Suhl, Germany, in June this year and Sydney, Australia, in 2018. She also won medals at the Asian Airgun Championship at Shymkent in Kazakhstan, World University Games in Chengdu and competitions in Munich in 2025. She was also conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2022.
Valarivan won silver medals in the women’s 10m air rifle individual and team events.
Quoting Sanghavi, an official statement said the Gujarat govt was committed to providing its sporting talent with the training and facilities required to compete at the global level. Sanghavi noted that Valarivan had studied at Sanskardham, a complex functioning under the govt’s district-level sports school (DLSS) scheme, and said her achievements would inspire thousands of young sportspersons in the state. He also credited the parents for playing a crucial role in supporting their children’s sporting journeys.