Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

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Colonel
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
AVSM
The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (IC) and Information & Broadcasting, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore addressing after felicitating the winners of the World Youth Boxing Championship 2017, at a function (cropped).jpg
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports
In office
3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Preceded byVijay Goel
Succeeded byKiren Rijiju
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 May 2014 (2014-05-16)
Preceded byLalchand Kataria
ConstituencyJaipur Rural
Majority332,896 (32.84%)
Personal details
Born (1970-01-29) 29 January 1970 (age 51)
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
NationalityIndian
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)
Gayatri Rathore
​
(m. 1997)​
[1]
Children2
Alma mater
  • National Defence Academy, Pune
  • Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
Military service
Allegiance India
Branch/service Indian Army
Years of service1990 – 2013
RankColonel of the Indian Army.svg Colonel
Unit9th Grenadiers
Battles/warsKargil War[2]
Awards
Sports career
SportShooting
Event(s)Double trap
Medal record
Men's shooting[3]
Representing  India
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games – 1 –
Commonwealth Games 3 1 –
Asian Games - 1 1
- - 1
ISSF World Shooting Championship 1 1 2
5 - -
Total 9 4 4
Olympic Games
Olympic rings.svg
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Double trap
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Double trap pairs
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Double trap individual
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Double trap pairs
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Double trap teams
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Double trap
World Shotgun Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Cyprus Double trap individual
ISSF World Shooting Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Granada Double trap individual
Silver medal – second place 2004 Sydney Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2006 Cairo Double trap individual
Bronze medal – third place 2003 New Delhi Double trap individual
Asian Clay Target Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 New Delhi Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2004 Bangkok Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2005 Bangkok Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2006 Singapore Double trap individual
Gold medal – first place 2011 Kuala Lumpur Double trap individual
Minister of State
  • 24 May 2018 – 24 May 2019: Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting
  • 3 September 2017 – 24 May 2019:Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports
  • 9 November 2014 – 24 May 2018: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, AVSM, (born 29 January 1970) is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist, former shooting athlete and retired Indian Army officer. Rathore is a Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha from Jaipur Rural seat. He served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in the Government of India till May 2019.[4]

He won 25 international medals at various championships for Double Trap Shooting including a silver medal at 2004 Summer Olympics in Men's Double Trap event.[5]

Rathore served as a commissioned officer in The Grenadiers regiment of the Indian Army before retiring in 2013 as a colonel. Following his retirement from the army and shooting, he became the member of the parliament for the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014.

In November 2014, was made the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.[6] Rathore was appointed as a Cabinet minister with independent charge for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2017.[7]

Personal life[]

Rathore was born in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan to Colonel Lakshman Singh Rathore (Retd) and Manju Rathore on 29 January 1970.[8][9]

His educational qualifications include B.A., Instructor-Weapons (MMG, AGL, Small Arms), Grading Tactics (YO) Course. He was educated at the National Defence Academy, Pune and Infantry School, Mhow.[8]

He married Gayatri Rathore on 16 February 1997, a doctor by profession in the Indian Army. They have a son and a daughter.[8][9]

Military career[]

Rathore is a graduate of the 77th Course of the National Defence Academy.[10] After graduating from the NDA, Rathore attended the Indian Military Academy where he was awarded with the Sword of Honor for the best all-round Gentleman Cadet. He was also the recipient of the Sikh Regiment Gold Medal, awarded to the best sportsman of the course.[9]

He was later commissioned in the 9th Grenadiers (Mewar) Regiment on 15 December 1990. He was promoted to lieutenant on 15 December 1992 and to captain on 15 December 1995.[11][12] Rathore fought in the Kargil War,[2] and was promoted to major on 15 December 2000.[13] As part of his career in the Indian Army, he served in Jammu and Kashmir, where he participated in counter-terrorist operations. His regiment was awarded with the Army Chief's Citation and the Governor of J&K's Citation for exemplary work.[9] He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 16 December 2004,[14] and to his final rank of colonel on 1 May 2009.[15]

Sports career[]

At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Rathore won a gold medal and set a new Commonwealth Games Record of 192 targets out of 200, which still stands. He also won the Team Gold Medal along with Moraad Ali Khan. Rathore, went on to successfully defend his Commonwealth Champion title by winning the gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. He also won the Silver in the Team event with Vikram Bhatnagar. He won gold medals in two World Shooting Championships, at Sydney in 2004 and Cairo in 2006.

Rathore rose to prominence when he won the silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was India's first ever individual silver at the Olympics.[16][9]

In 2006, Rathore won a bronze medal in the World Championship in Spain, an event held for the top 12 shooters of the world. He was ranked third in the world for the most of 2003 and 2004 and briefly climbed to the first in early 2004 and second after the Athens Olympics. He won a Silver at the World Championship in 2003 in Sydney for India after a gap of nearly 40 years.[9] India had not seen a victory since Karni Singh of Bikaner, who won a Silver at the 1962 World shooting Championship in Cairo. Rathore is accredited for winning the Asian Clay Target Gold Medal for four times in a row from 2003 to 2006. He also holds an Individual Bronze Medal which at the Asian Games 2006 in Doha.

Between 2002 and 2006 he won 25 International Medals at various championships for Double Trap.

In 2011, Rathore participated in the Asian Clay Target Championship in Kuala Lumpur and won gold. His score of 194 in that tournament equals world record.[3]

Political career[]

On 10 September 2013, Rathore joined Bharatiya Janata Party after taking retirement from the Indian Army.[17] He was elected as an MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Jaipur Rural constituency.[18] On 9 November 2014, he was sworn-in as the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, under the Narendra Modi government. [19] He was appointed as the Minister of Sports on 3 September 2017. In May 2018, he became Minister of State (I/C) for Information & Broadcasting. [9]

Awards and recognitions[]

  • 2005 – Padma Shri[20]
  • 2004–2005 – the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (Highest Sporting Honour of India).
  • 2003–2004 – Arjuna Award
  • Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), military award for exceptional service, presented by the President of India on behalf of the Government of India.
  • Rathore was the chosen flag bearer for India during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.[21]
  • Rathore was the chosen flag bearer for India during the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia
  • 1990 – the Sword of Honour (For the Best All Round Officer Cadet at the Indian Military Academy).
  • 1990 – the Sikh Regiment Gold Medal (For the Best Sportsmen at the Indian Military Academy).
  • 1989 – the "Blazer" (Highest sports award at the National Defence Academy, Pune, India).

Military awards[]

Padma Shri Ati Vishist Seva Medal
Special Service Medal Operation Vijay Star Operation Vijay Medal
Sainya Seva Medal 50th Anniversary of Independence Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal

References[]

  1. ^ "A Sure Shot". The Tribune. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Work smart rather than just hard". Rediff India Abroad. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b "ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation - issf-sports.org". www.issf-sports.org. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Biography – About family, political life, awards won, history". Elections in India.
  5. ^ "Rathore Medals".
  6. ^ Vincent, Pheroze (10 November 2014). "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Olympian finds a place". The Hindu. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  7. ^ Ravinder, Singh (3 September 2017). "Sports Minister". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Olympic silver medallist appointed sports minister", Hindustan Times, 3 September 2017
  10. ^ https://nda.nic.in/ndaaa/eminentpersonality.php
  11. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 October 1993. p. 1871.
  12. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 March 1996. p. 390.
  13. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 December 2001. p. 1464.
  14. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 December 2005. p. 2419.
  15. ^ "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 November 2010. p. 2207.
  16. ^ "Shooter Rathore strikes silver". rediff.com. 17 August 2004.
  17. ^ "Olympic medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore joins BJP". The Times of India. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013.
  18. ^ "Narendra Modi to also contest from Vadodara in Lok Sabha Election". news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  19. ^ "'Come, Have Breakfast With Me and Take Oath, PM Modi Said': Rajyavardhan Rathore to NDTV". NDTV. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  20. ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  21. ^ "ŠRathore to be India's flag bearer in Beijing". ndtv.com. 4 August 2008.

External links[]

Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Lalchand Kataria
 Member of Parliament
for Jaipur Rural
2014 – present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Smriti Irani
 Minister of Information and Broadcasting
14 May 2018 – 31 May 2019
Minister of State with Independent Charge 		Succeeded by
Prakash Javadekar
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for India
Beijing 2008 		Succeeded by
Sushil Kumar
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