Elavenil Valarivan terms shooting as 'mental' sport, hopes to use Tokyo 2020 experience to better performance at Paris 2024 Olympics [Exclusive]
Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan is all set to represent the nation in her second Olympic Games when she takes on the field in Paris on Sunday (July 28). In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda, Elavenil, 10m rifle shooter, spoke about her training, Olympics experience and personal goals heading into Paris Olympics 2024.
With 20 medals to her name over the years, she hopes to add an Olympic medal to her cabinet.
Here are the excerpts from the chat:
Starting off your second Olympics campaign, how much will the prior experience come in handy this time around?
I think every match has been a good experience for me so far, and there has been good learning from most of them. I think not only from the Olympics, but overall, the matches that I've had in the past 3-4 years have been crucial learning and have helped me out when it was really required. So, I'm just going to take ahead all this learning and put it to good use in the coming days.
What are some of the areas of improvement you've been working on ahead of the Olympics?
I think somewhere over the years, I always wanted to work on my mental and physical part, and I feel that this thing particularly has worked out really well in the past few years, and I'm glad that it is working out well. These are some of the main areas of improvement that I've had in the past few months.
What aspects of mental training have you been working on, and how has it actually helped improve your game?
As you know, shooting is more of a mental sport. We have to be focused for a very long period of time, and I feel that has always been a learning part for me. I always found it a little difficult being in the zone for a long period of time, which has been something that I was working on for a long time. I'm glad that it is working out well, and this would be something that I would be taking ahead with me. I don't think it is stopping here. It is a long journey, as my psychologist always says. So, I'm glad that this particular aspect is working out really well.
Redemption is on the cards this time around. What are the steps you need to take to get redemption?
I wouldn't call it redemption. I would say it is just an opportunity that I'm getting to be a part of again, and of course, I'm very, very grateful for it. Speaking about steps, I think I have been following the same ones over the years, and I will keep on following the same. I don't think I would be changing anything, just trying to repeat it every single time.
At the previous Olympics, you must have interacted with other shooters as well. Is there a difference in mindset between our Indian shooters and the foreign shooters? And if there is, what would that difference in mindset be?
I wouldn't really say it is a difference in mindset because, at the end of the day, all of us want to win. The mindset would be the same. In terms of preparation, we have worked in a very competitive environment over the past year, especially considering the Olympic trials that happened. It was very competitive. All of the top shooters in the country were participating, and it was intense. So, in terms of preparation, I feel that we are prepared really well, and that is a very strong point for the Indian shooters.
What would a medal at the Olympics mean to you personally?
A medal would be an answer. It would mean that I have followed my process really well. The goal that I had set for myself, I would have done it really well, and that would be a result of all the times that I followed my process well. So, yes, a medal would mean that I did exactly what I was supposed to.