Gujarati Women at Asian Games 2026: 3 Athletes to Watch
Gujarati Women head to Japan with Ankita Raina, Elavenil Valarivan and Meetva Chaudhary
✍️ By Shri Pradeep Trivedi
English translation adapted from the original Gujarati article without changes to the content or experiences described by the author.
Freelance Writer | Author | Sports Analyst | Lecturer | Sports Journalist
For the 20th Asian Games, which will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, a total of 235 women from India will take part in different events.
Among them, three women athletes from Gujarat are officially included in the Indian team. They are Elavenil Valarivan in shooting, Ankita Raina in tennis, and Meetva Chaudhary in fencing. Apart from them, Rajkot’s Devyani Ba Zala in the 400-metre sprint and Ahmedabad’s Vaidehi Chaudhary in tennis were also selected for the Asian Games. However, in the end, only these three women athletes have been selected to take part in the Asian Games.
First Woman: Razia Sheikh
The historic honour of becoming the first Gujarati woman to take part in the Asian Games went to Razia Sheikh, a 23 to 24-year-old young woman from Vadodara.
Yes, she took part in the javelin throw at the 9th Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1982. She opened a new chapter in Gujarat’s sporting history. She also became the first Gujarati woman to make her international debut.
After this, she was selected for the 10th Asian Games held in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986. She took part in the Asian Games for the second time in a row.
Razia won her first international medal in 1987. At the 3rd South Asian Games held in Kolkata in 1987, she created history in the javelin throw by winning the gold medal with a throw of 50.38 metres. With this performance, she also set a new Asian Games record.
Razia became the first Indian woman to throw the javelin more than 50 metres. She won a total of nine international medals, including two gold medals.
Razia was actually a fast bowler in cricket. But, due to certain circumstances, she moved to field sports and took up the javelin throw. After that, Razia created a new chapter in history in the javelin throw. This change proved to be a turning point for her.
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First Gold Medal: Sarita Gaikwad
The historic honour of winning Gujarat’s first gold medal at the Asian Games belongs to Sarita Gaikwad, the 24-year-old daughter of a tribal farming family.
Known as the “Dang Express”, Sarita won the gold medal in the 4 x 400-metre relay at the 18th Asian Games held in Jakarta in 2018. She completed the race in 3:28.72 minutes along with her teammates Hima Das, Poovamma Raju and Vismaya.
Sarita travelled from the forests of Dang to the Asian Games podium. She kept running despite poverty, poor facilities and many difficulties. She finally earned the honour of winning Gujarat’s first gold medal.
She also won a silver and a bronze medal at the Asian Athletics Championships held in Doha in 2019.
Before becoming the Dang Express, Sarita was a talented kho-kho player. While playing kho-kho, she moved into athletics and started running on the track and field. She then went on to win gold in track and field. Here too, a turning point took her to a gold medal.
Now, Let Us Look at the Women Athletes Taking Part in 2026
Now, let us look at the women athletes who will take part in 2026.
Tennis player Ankita Raina is a bronze medallist from the 2018 Asian Games. She is also a very experienced player.
So, let us learn about the Gujarati women athletes who will play at the 20th Asian Games in Japan.
Ankita Raina: Tennis
Ankita Raina, known as Ahmedabad’s “Tennis Fairy”, reached the quarter-finals, her best result, at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which are considered the most prestigious tennis events.
Ankita has won 11 ITF singles titles and 33 doubles titles. She also has the honour of being the only player from Gujarat to play doubles with Sania Mirza at the 2020 Olympics.
Ankita Raina also holds the historic honour of being the only Gujarati woman to take part in tennis at the Olympics.
At these Asian Games, Ankita will play women’s doubles with Rutuja Bhosale.
Ankita was born in Ahmedabad to Ravindra Kishan Raina and Lalita Raina. She had a strong interest in tennis from a very young age. At only five years old, she picked up a racket and started hitting shots on the court.
Her favourite players have been Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Sania Mirza.
Ankita finished second at the Asian Under-14 Masters Tournament in Melbourne with a strong performance. After this, she started professional training under coach Hemant Bendrey at PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune.
As a result, she quickly started achieving success at the national level.
Her golden journey began in 2016 when she won two gold medals at the South Asian Games in Guwahati. She won gold in women’s singles and mixed doubles with Divij Sharan.
She also won a silver medal in women’s doubles with Prarthana Thombare at the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in 2017.
Ankita has also won one WTA doubles title and one WTA Challenger title. She is eager to win a gold medal at these Asian Games.
We wish her the very best.
Elavenil Valarivan: Shooting
At the 20th Asian Games, Elavenil Valarivan will take part in two events: the women’s 10-metre air rifle individual event and the team event.
She is one of India’s best women shooters and has been honoured with the Arjuna Award.
Elavenil is a specialist in the 10-metre air rifle event. She has won gold six times at the Junior World Cup and once at the Junior World Championship.
She has also won gold four times at the World Cup, once at the World Cup Final, and eight times at the Asian Championships.
She has also won one gold medal each at the World University Games and the World University Championships.
In total, Elavenil Valarivan has won 22 international gold medals. Along with seven silver and eight bronze medals, she has won a total of 37 international medals.
Originally from Tamil Nadu, 27-year-old Elavenil was a student of Gujarat University.
She is 5 feet 5 inches tall and has been ranked world number one. She also holds national records with scores of 253.6 in 2025 and 635.9 in 2025.
At these Asian Games, she will be aiming carefully for a gold medal.
We all wish her the very best to win gold.
Meetva Chaudhary: Fencing
Meetva Chaudhary will take part in the women’s épée team event in fencing at the 20th Asian Games.
She is the enthusiastic 24-year-old daughter of farmer Jesangbhai and Jelibен from Sujanipur in Patan district.
Meetva is an expert in fencing. At the 36th Senior National Fencing Championship held in Delhi in 2025, she won a gold medal in the individual event and a bronze medal in the team event.
By winning two medals at the same Games, she wrote a golden chapter in Gujarat’s sporting history.
Meetva plays fencing with her left hand. She first started training under coaches Ratnadeep and Kinjal Thakor in 2017, when she was 15 years old.
After this, she was selected for the Sports Authority of Gujarat centre in Nadiad. She received training there and also completed her graduation.
Meetva enjoys travelling and listening to music.
At the Khelo India University Games, she won two gold medals, finishing first in both the individual and team events.
She has also represented India at the World University Games, Asian Fencing Championships, Senior World Cups and World Championships.
Earlier, in the 2024 Senior National Championship, she won her first individual bronze medal. It was the first medal for Gujarat in the event.
In 2024, she also won a silver medal in the individual event and a bronze medal in the team event at the Khelo India University Games.
Meetva trains under coach Danilo at Vijay Bharat Sports Academy in Ahmedabad. She has made Gujarat and India proud at national and international levels.
For the first time in Gujarat’s history, a woman fencer has been selected for the Asian Games. This is a proud moment.
We wish Meetva the very best for the Asian Games.
Thus, the women of Gujarat are now reaching a level where they can win medals at major international sporting events such as the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics.
We congratulate and wish all the women athletes of Gujarat and all the coaches who have trained them the very best.
Acknowledgement:
Newz Daddy extends sincere thanks to Shri Pradeep Trivedi, author, sports analyst and journalist, for sharing his memorable Asian Games details. We also appreciate the photographs and personal experiences that have enriched this article.
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