Two weeks, a new rifle, an Asian Games silver medal: Vidarsa’s gamble pays off

In a bold move just weeks before the prestigious event, Vidarsa replaced her old rifle with a high-end model, leading to a remarkable silver medal finish in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

At the start of September, about two weeks before she was due to compete at the Asian Games, Vidarsa Vinod Kochalumkal finally bought her first 10m air rifle.

It was a steel-grey Feinwerkbau 900 ALU. The decision was something of a gamble, not least because the rifle cost about Rs 5 lakh.

For the past five years, the 27-year-old had been shooting with a Walther that once belonged to her husband, Manu. It was old and had been modified and adjusted countless times. More importantly, though, it produced results.

It was on that same rifle that Vidarsa had come through a fiercely competitive national selection process to earn her place on the Asian Games team.

“It was a risky move to change something she had worked with for so long. But she took that risk,” says Manu.

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The gamble has already paid off.

On Sunday, Vidarsa — on her Asian Games debut— partnered Sonam Maskar and Elavenil Valarivan to win silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event. Her score of 630.4 contributed to India’s aggregate of 1898 points, with only China finishing ahead.

As she held the silver medal between her fingers, Vidarsa admitted she could hardly believe what she had accomplished.

“When I started shooting, I never thought that one day I would be competing at the Asian Games and I’d have my own medal,” she says.

The women’s 10m air rifle team brought India its first confirmed medal of the 2026 Asian Games. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

For much of her career, Vidarsa had never even intended to become an air-rifle shooter.

Growing up in Kozhikode, Kerala, she first became fascinated by shooting as an NCC cadet. And it wasn’t the air rifle that caught her attention.

“I wanted to try shooting only because I wanted to touch an actual gun,” she remembers.

On her first day, with virtually no training, she was the best shooter in the group. The result encouraged her to continue. But it was only the following year, after she joined the Kerala Rifle Association and won 12 medals at her first state competition, that she began to believe shooting could become a profession.

The early years, however, were not easy.

At the NCC, Vidarsa used an old rifle and ammunition that she felt was of poor quality. Her shooting jacket belonged to someone else and did not even fit her properly. Eventually, she and her father took a loan to buy her own 50m rifle.

She moved to Delhi in 2021 to train with national coach Manoj Kumar. Even at that stage, the 10m air rifle event held little attraction for her.

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“I was forced into shooting it,” she says. “Manoj sir told me that if I shot the air rifle, it would help me develop my standing shooting in the 50m rifle three-position event.”

Vidarsa still wasn’t convinced.

“I didn’t have the resources to buy a new gun. I’d used everything I had in buying my 50m rifle. I really didn’t want to buy another rifle for something that wasn’t even my primary event,” she says.

Eventually, her friend Manu — himself a shooter who had supported her before they eventually married — provided the solution, sharing the Walter rifle that belonged to him.

That rifle would become an unlikely but important part of Vidarsa’s journey.

Her 50m performance improved and she made her international debut in 2025. But, unexpectedly, it was the event she had initially regarded as little more than a training exercise that began to produce results.

“I first started to believe I had potential in the 10m event after I reached the final of the National Games in Dehradun in 2025. After that, I felt maybe I shouldn’t just see this as a training exercise,” she says.

She began making her presence felt at the national selection trials. Her first international appearance in the 10m air rifle came at the Munich World Cup in June 2026, where she shot 630.6 in qualification. She followed that with an appearance at the Hangzhou World Cup the following month.

There were no medals at either event, but Vidarsa was steadily building a case for herself.

By the time the Asian Games selection process was complete, she had qualified for both the 10m air rifle and 50m rifle competitions.

It was only then that the decision was made that the Walther had finally reached the end of its utility.

— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) September 20, 2026

“The rifle she had originally bought was meant for her husband. Vidarsa is a much smaller shooter — she is only 152cm tall. So we adjusted it as much as possible, but eventually it was not possible. So it was time to get her a new rifle,” says Manoj.

For years, Vidarsa had hesitated to spend money on another rifle. Now, with an Asian Games place secured and her old equipment no longer capable of being adjusted sufficiently to suit her, there was little reason to hesitate.

The timing could hardly have been more dramatic. She had only about two weeks to become comfortable with the new Feinwerkbau ahead of her Asian Games debut.

There was, naturally, some apprehension.

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“A lot of people doubted the choice but I completely trusted Manoj sir,” Vidarsa says.

For his part coach Manoj Kumar says he’s satisfied with the outcome.

“Vidarsa shot about as well as she always has. I was hoping she would have improved on her average score but I couldn’t have asked for more,” he told Sportstar.

For her part, Vidarsa feels she certainly can. Her current Feinwerkbau has served its purpose but she’s not done yet.

“I’ve got so much confidence. I still have my 50m rifle event to go. I will do my best in that as well. But from now on, I think the 10m air rifle is not my secondary event anymore,” she says.

Published on Sep 20, 2026

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