World-Record Smashers! Arjun Babuta, Elavenil Valarivan Rewrite History In Air Rifle Mixed Team

Last Updated:February 08, 2026, 17:40 IST

Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan set a world record at the Asian Shooting Championships 2026, winning 10m air rifle mixed team gold at Dr Karni Singh Range.

India’s golden run at the Asian Shooting Championships 2026 rolled on and in record-breaking style.

Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan lit up the Dr Karni Singh Range in New Delhi on Sunday, clinching the 10m air rifle mixed team gold with a new world record score of 505, adding another glittering moment to the hosts’ campaign.

The Indian duo were in a league of their own in the four-team shoot-off final, leading from start to finish and never loosening their grip on top spot. Their score smashed the previous world record of 502.7, set by Germany’s Hanna Buehlmeyer and Maximilian Ulbrich at the ISSF Grand Prix in Slovenia last month.

South Korea’s Kim Woorim and Kwon Eunji settled for silver with 501, while Japan’s Naoya Okada and Misaki Nobata claimed bronze on 437.9.

The record carries added weight, coming under the new ISSF mixed team format, which replaced separate gold and bronze medal matches with a single four-team final from January 1, 2026 — making Babuta and Valarivan the first to set the benchmark in this era.

Earlier in the day, the Indian pair had already underlined their form by topping qualification with a combined 632.8.

For Babuta, the gold added to an already impressive week after his silver in the men’s 10m air rifle, while Valarivan continued her dominance by backing up her defended women’s continental title.

India’s second pair — Asian champion Rudrankksh Patil and women’s bronze medallist Meghana Sajjanar — finished third in qualification with 629 but missed out on the medal round due to the one-team-per-nation rule.

The result pushed India’s senior medal tally to 12 (seven gold, three silver, two bronze). Elsewhere, two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker sits second in the women’s 25m pistol qualifiers after the precision stage, with Esha Singh leading.

The championships run until February 13, featuring shooters from 20 nations — and India are firmly setting the pace.

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