“Shooting happened to me as a coincidence” - Paris-bound Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan on how she got into the sport
Elavenil Valarivan, born in Tamil Nadu, is an Indian shooter who is currently representing the nation at the Paris Olympics 2024. In an exclusive conversation with Sportskeeda, Elavenil Valarivan, a 10m rifle shooter, highlighted her journey in shooting and how, coincidently, she started playing.
Elavenil has had a decorated career so far, with a total of 20 medals for India across multiple events. Her best performances have come at the World Cup, where she has won four golds and one silver. Before that, she even dominated in the Junior World Cup with six gold medals and a bronze.
Let’s take a look at her journey and how the support was from her family.
Q: Talking about your personal journey, how did you get into shooting? What was the age you got into shooting, and what has your journey been like from there to now?
Elavenil Valarivan: Shooting happened to me as a coincidence back in 2012. I met one of my dad's student's daughters, who was a very good shooter in Gujarat, and she introduced me to the sport.
It was my dad who wanted me to try the sport. It started as a coincidence and I took shooting professionally in 2014 when the Gujarat government and Gun For Glory signed an MOU for setting up shooting ranges all over Gujarat.
I got incorporated into the plan, where I met my personal coach, Neha Chavan and shooting has taken up all over me since then. I think I was 13 or 14 years of age when I started shooting professionally.
Q: What has the journey been like? What have been some of the biggest challenges you faced in your journey?
Elavenil Valarivan: I think every day is a challenge. Every day is a new learning. There are some days I feel that I just know everything and then there is something new to learn again today. This has been the most fruitful part of the whole journey, and I've got so much to learn.
The sport is always teaching; it's a never-ending learning experience. Despite it being 9 or 10 years of being a professional shooter, I think the sport has so much to give to me. I’m just grateful for it.
Q: How was the support from your parents when you took up shooting professionally?
Elavenil Valarivan: My parents and my brother have been the ones who have always stood by me despite the ups and downs, whatever has happened. They have always stood by me, and knowing that they are always there behind me and I have someone to fall back on has always helped me push myself better.
I’m just grateful to them for always believing in me despite whatever was happening on the range.