The road to the shooting range, located at an elevation of 670 metres in Toyota City, runs through the pretty Aichi countryside, with tall trees stretching up to the hills and scenic waterfalls. What Indian shooters hadn’t anticipated, though, was a bus journey from Nagoya that could stretch to two hours on winding roads, with its own set of challenges.To stay mentally and physically fresh at the Aichi Prefectural General Shooting Gallery, the Indian shooters used neck pillows to prevent stiffness caused by the tossing as the bus changed direction. Phone screens were kept off to avoid motion sickness, and some opted to sleep before reaching the competition venue.Despite the difficult journey, India opened its Asian Games tally here on Sunday with two silver medals, both from the rifle range. Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Maskar and Vidarsa Vinod finished second behind China in the women’s 10m air rifle team event, before Elavenil added an individual silver later in the day. She was just 0.6 points short of Japan’s Taichi Hinata in a gripping final, shooting 252.4 to Hinata’s 253.0.Also Read | How Elavenil got her Asian Games moment: Eight years of waiting, 0.6 from goldThe medals were evidence that India’s preparations at home — that focused on challenges at the shooting range— were effective. However, they also had to improvise for the challenges on road to the range.“We have advised all shooters to keep a neck pillow that they can use during their journey so that their neck doesn’t get stiff,” Manoj Kumar, the rifle coach, said. “And they have been told to avoid using their phones during bus journeys so that they don’t get motion sickness. They can use the phone to listen to songs, but that’s about it.”Click here to read our Asian Games full coverageElavenil took the advice particularly seriously. She already has neck issues and did not want two hours of constant movement to aggravate them before a competition. “It’s a two-hour journey from the hotel and in the bus we keep moving all the time,” Elavenil, who won two silvers on Sunday, said. “So for me, it was very important that I keep my neck very stable because I already have neck pain and neck issues. I did not want to aggravate it before my competition.”Her solution: a neck pillow, earphones and the view outside the window. She listens to a playlist that shuffles between Hindi melody and English rock to classic Tamil. “I have been listening to the songs and get a good view of the countryside,” she said.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Elavenil, Sonam, Vidarsa: 3 unique paths to India’s 1st Asian Games 2026 medalThe organisers had initially indicated that the journey would take around 70 minutes. “We didn’t expect such a long journey,” Manoj said. The coaching staff stepped in with advice only two days before the competition, once they realised how long the commute would be.For Sonam, there is less of a playlist and more of a shutdown button. “I just sleep. If I look outside, I feel nauseous,” she said.Ronak Pandit, the pistol high performance coach, said the buses are comfortable, with enough legroom and good seats. But that does not necessarily mean the journey is restful, particularly when athletes spend it glued to their screens. “We see a lot of athletes watching something on their iPads,” he said. “What happens to your mind when you are doom scrolling? You develop cognitive fatigue. You don’t want that before a match,” Pandit said. “They have to be at their peak physically and mentally. We have to safeguard all that so that they have least fatigue.”Also Read | How India taught its shooters to slow their heartsManoj also pointed to the conditions at the range itself. “The challenge is that light changes very frequently here. It’s cloudy one minute and then it’s bright and then cloudy again. Sometimes it’s windy,” he said.Story continues below this adThe altitude is different too, although the adjustment is less about breathing and more about sight and aim. “We have to adjust our sight and aim. I was talking to Niraj Kumar (rifle shooter) and he said the surroundings reminded him of Ooty, where he trains,” Manoj said.