Elavenil Valarivan: I know I am the best, but the learning curve continues

With the new Olympic cycle set to begin, Elavenil Vakarivan is looking to turn the sting of the Asian Games individual silver into a lesson for the future. | Photo Credit: J. Johan Sathyadas

At 19, Elavenil Valarivan knew she was the best. Eight years later, she still does. Perhaps what has changed is what she expects from herself.

The young shooter who arrived at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games in 2018, carrying the weight of the ‘prodigy’ tag, wanted to hoard medals. However, the Elavenil who returned from Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with two silver medals has a different ambition. She wants to enjoy the sport as well.

It sounds deceptively simple for someone who has spent much of her career chasing fractions of a point. But the journey to enlightenment has taken her through two Olympics, countless arguments with her coach Neha Chavan, and the demands of growing up in a sport where you are always made to be on your heels.

Now, with the new Olympic cycle set to begin, Elavenil is looking to turn the sting of the Asian Games individual silver into a lesson for the future. The 0.6-point deficit to the podium still hurts, but she knows there is more to take away from the final. After all, the prodigy, as it turns out, was never quite finished becoming an athlete.

In this conversation with Sportstar at the headquarters of The Hindu in Chennai, Elavenil opens up about the Asiad final, lessons from Tokyo, people who have shaped her career, and her desire to discover what lies beyond the pursuit of medals.

Excerpts:

Question: Ela, it is well-established that you are a big Batmaniac. So much so that you wear a Batman bandana under your visors every time you compete. Interestingly, you won your first Asian Games silver within a few hours of Batman Day being celebrated internationally this year. Do you think the Gotham Gods were sending you a sign?

Answer: A few people did tell me this. Two of my friends also wished me the day before, saying that it’s Batman Day; go do your work.

Q: There is a strange thing about shooting: a 252.4 [Elavenil’s score in the Asian Games final] can be an extraordinary performance yet still feel incomplete because someone else shot a 253.0 [Taichi Hinata of Japan]. How do you separate the quality of your performance from the result?

A: I was at my best on that day. During qualification, I was on fire. I think I was leading the final from the very beginning, which is a big improvement.

I have been working on it, and I could see that now, I’m able to turn it into results on the given day, at the given time. So, it was more important that I be consistent. And somewhere I found my groove. I was leading till the 21st [of a total of 24] shot.

Q: The final few shots... you must have thought about those moments when you finally retired to your hotel room that night. Can you take me through the emotions?

A: There were a lot of emotions, and I am confused. I generally keep saying that shooting is a very mentally challenging sport. You work a lot in your head, you talk a lot, and you try to do all the permutations and combinations while being at your absolute best for the required moment.

But somewhere in the last four or five shots, I had a mix of emotions, and I was looking forward to winning the gold. I’m still trying to channelise my thoughts and understand what I can do better in the upcoming competitions.

Q: If I gave you the choice between winning that final with a 253.0 or shooting 252.4 and winning silver exactly as you did but learning something that makes you a better shooter for the next five years, which would be your pick?

A: There is a huge area that I have to work on because this 0.6 is going to pinch me for a very long time. So, I think it is the learning that I would want to take with me.

Q: Somewhere along the line, do you think you had to lose the ‘prodigy’ tag to become the shooter you are now? That tag does come with a lot of pressure. You were only 19 at Jakarta [Asian Games 2018], and it was perhaps since then that you have been called so.

A: I knew I was the best. I know I am the best. Somebody putting a tag on it and me believing in that tag is something I made possible.

I would have not called myself a prodigy. If people saw me that way, it’s a perception.

I know that I’m still on the learning curve. In my head, I am still the same. I am still the inquisitive kid who wants to achieve a lot more.

Q: What did the 19-year-old Elavenil misunderstand about elite sport that the 27-year-old Elavenil now understands?

A: I’ve learned a lot in the past eight years. I have played in two Olympics, won the Arjuna Award, and have multiple World Cup and World Championship medals. I have also been the Asian champion.

It is just that I have now chosen to believe more in myself and started enjoying the sport.

Elavenil the love-learn relationship she has with coach Neha Chavan which has helped her perform consistently at the top. | Photo Credit: PTI

The 19-year-old Ela was very motivated to win and get the brightest medals for the country, for herself, and for everybody around her. But for the 27-year-old Ela, it is more about enjoying the sport and getting to play the sport every single day.

I mean, people would give anything for the opportunity that I have today. I am just grateful for getting to represent the country.

Q: You’re naturally a fast shooter. Has learning when not to shoot become as important as learning when to do it?

A: I got a little extra fast because I wanted to finish off each shot and see what I had done and how my efforts were turning out to be. So, somewhere, yes, that was one of the points that I have consciously worked on.

Q: Has your relationship with Neha changed as you’ve become older? Is she still correcting you technically, or is it more about solving problems together?

A: It’s more about understanding each other after arguments because we have a lot of them (laughs). And only because I would not want to change a set of things in my head that I have learnt over the years.

But according to the coach, your body is going through change every single day. So, one should be okay with adjusting accordingly.

RELATED | Elavenil Valarivan’s silver worth its weight in gold

I’m very hot-headed, and it’s a ‘my way or the highway’ kind of equation, even with Neha ma’am. So, it somehow blows up into an argument, and then at the end I’ll be like, “Okay, fine, you tell me what you want. I’ll do it.”

Because eventually, that has always worked for me. Over the years, I have blindly relied on her. And that has always helped me, which I’m very grateful for.

But now, I’m in that experimental phase. I want to try this and try that. So, perhaps she needs to be even more stern with me. It is a love-learn relationship and not a love-hate one.

Q: Coming to the national team setup, it is a huge team made up of many high-performance team members. Since we don’t catch any of this background action on TV, can you tell us how that system functions?

A: We have the coaches. Then we have the entire high-performance department surrounding all of us. So, it is more like athlete-centred, coach-driven and high-performance supported.

We do not really have to go with our problems to them because they would have already foreseen it and been working on it even before we became aware of the same.

So, with Dr. Pierre [Beauchamp] as the high-performance director, Ronak [Pandit] sir as our high-performance manager, and [Thomas] Farnik as our high-performance coach, it is a close-knit group. We have a physio team working with us all the time and a strength-and-conditioning unit working with us 24x7. We have the psychologist and a data analyst also who are constantly giving feedback.

So, it is an entire curriculum that has been set up. It may look very complicated from the outside, but when we are in the system, we just know where to go.

Q: You once had to prove that you belong at this level. Do you still feel you have something to prove?

A: Absolutely. I think Ela needs to prove that she can enjoy the sport while still winning medals. Over a period of time, we tend to lose sight of the fact that we started shooting because we love the sport. We become so engrossed in winning medals, making it to the team, making it to the Olympics and everything, we just forget the rest.

Q: Since you are a DC fan, I am giving you the rare opportunity to be in Barry Allen’s shoes. This is Flashpoint. You have time travelled and are sitting across the table from a 19-year-old, Elavenil, who’s arrived in Jakarta. Without giving any spoilers from the future, because that will obviously mess with the timeline, what would you tell her?

A: Trust your process and trust yourself. There are going to be ups and downs and so many situations that are going to test your patience, your perseverance, and your faith in everything, including yourself. But just hold on, it is just another day.

Q: Slightly touching a pain point here... If you could erase one result from your career, would you?

A: Interesting question... No, it stays as is. Because otherwise, the journey I’ve had would not be the same.

If I had to imagine things, I would possibly be like, I would have liked to win the gold at the Tokyo Olympics, but then that would have been it. I don’t know what Ela would have done post that. Tokyo did take a lot from me, but I think that is what has made me the person I am today.

So, if I had to choose between a performance and the person I am today, I think I know the clear answer.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵, 𝗘𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 😮‍💨🔥 More from the champion shooter on Sportstar's original series Champions of Tamil Nadu coming soon on YouTube 📱

— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) November 4, 2026

Q: You are now a part of the NRAI Executive Committee under the Prominent Athletes’ Quota with who else but [her mentor] Gagan [Narang]. First, tell us about the relationship you share with him. Secondly, this is an administrative debut for you. Is it something you’d consider once you’ve laid your gun down?

A: [Gagan] Sir has made sure I was put through difficult situations. He did not just hand things over to me.

He challenged me in multiple ways to make sure that I get to learn from those experiences. Back as a kid, I always felt, “Why is sir doing this, or why is he doing that?” But now, when I look back, the 18-year-old Ela got to learn so much. Now, if I had an 18-year-old athlete in front of me, I would perhaps be a more bitter person.

When I look back, I see him saying, “I would not want you to make the mistakes that I have made.” Let’s get real, I have the Olympic bronze medallist in front of me, so it is important that I take all the knowledge possible.

I am very grateful that I have got Gagan sir as a mentor. He is guarding me all the time. If I do fall back, I know I have the best people to hold me up again.

As far as the administrative part is concerned, this journey for me, as an athlete, will come to an end eventually—not very soon, but sometime in the future.

Then I would want to give back to the community in whatever way possible. So, if I could even make what is existing better, I think that would be an achievement. And, if admin is the way to do it, then why not?

Q: Will we see the hot-headed Ela there, or the chilled out version?

A: It would be a mix of both probably. I have to have a head where I would be able to think in ways that would benefit an athlete.

But, at the same time, I would want to be the person who the athletes can approach.

(This interview is part of a video series called The Champions of Tamil Nadu, which was shot immediately after the 2026 Asian Games)