Elavenil rises to the challenge to re-write Asian record

ELAVENIL Valarivan was a definition of poise on Friday. With a series of impressive sky-scrapers on her scoresheet, the rifle shooter held her own against multiple rivals, who kept her honest until the end of the women's 10m air rifle event in the ongoing Asian Championships in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

- ANMOL GURUNG @ Chennai

The final, which featured a total of eight shooters, was an open battle until the closing stages with China's Peng Xinlu, Korea's Kwon Eun-ji in the mix for the gold medal. The atmosphere was tense with fellow shooters and coaches, who are part of the event, following the action up close from the stands. The sign of nerves was clear when both Elavenil and Kwon, uncharacteristically, strayed. In the 19th shot, Elavenil hit a 10 (a massive lapse in the context of the final). Kwon also returned with a below-par 10.1, but had shaded the Indian a couple of earlier rounds earlier to take a slender lead.