Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, , (born 29 January 1970) is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist, former shooting athlete and retired

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

officer. Rathore is a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

17th Lok Sabha The 17th Lok Sabha was formed by the members elected in the 2019 Indian general election. Elections, all across India, were conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election Commission of India. Counting started offi ...

from Jaipur Rural seat. He won 25 international medals at various championships for Double Trap Shooting including a silver medal at

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Men's Double Trap event. Rathore served as a commissioned officer in

The Grenadiers The Grenadiers is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army, formerly part of the Bombay Army and later the pre-independence British Indian Army, when the regiment was known as the 4th Bombay Grenadiers. It has distinguished itself during the tw ...

regiment of the

before retiring in 2013 as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. Following his retirement from the army and shooting, he became the member of the parliament for the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

in 2014. In November 2014, was made the

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for Information and Broadcasting. Rathore served as a

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

with independent charge for

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India which administers the Department of youth affairs and the Department of Sports in India. Anurag Thakur is the current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports followed ...

from 2017 until 2019.

Personal life

Rathore was born in

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

to Colonel Lakshman Singh Rathore (Retd.) and Manju Rathore on 29 January 1970. 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. He married Gayatri Rathore on 16 February 1997, she is a doctor by profession in the

. They have a son and a daughter.

Military career

Rathore is a graduate of the 77th Course of the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

. After graduating from the NDA, Rathore attended the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

where he was awarded 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. 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. Rathore fought in the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

, and was promoted to major on 15 December 2000. As part of his career in the

, he served in Jammu and Kashmir, where he participated in counter-terrorist operations. His regiment was awarded the Army Chief's Citation and the Governor of J&K's Citation for exemplary work. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 16 December 2004, and to his final rank of colonel on 1 May 2009.

Sports career

At the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, 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 Moraad Ali Khan (born 1961) is an Indian people, Indian Shooting sport, sports shooter who is widely credited for putting India on the world shooting map. He is a descendant of the Sayyid brothers, who were known as the "King Makers" in Indian ...

. 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 Vikram Bhatnagar is an Indian sport shooter. He won the silver medal in the Men's Double Trap (Pairs) with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In this process he was able to score a good score and carried the team to the ...

. 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 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. It was India's first ever individual silver at the Olympics. 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. 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 credited with winning the Asian Clay Target gold medal four times in a row from 2003 to 2006. He also holds an Individual bronze medal which was at the

Asian Games 2006 Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

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.

Political career

On 10 September 2013, Rathore joined

after taking retirement from the

. He was elected as an MP in the

2014 Lok Sabha election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...

from Jaipur Rural constituency. On 9 November 2014, he was sworn-in as the

for Information & Broadcasting, under the

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. He was appointed the Minister of Sports on 3 September 2017. In May 2018, he became Minister of State (I/C) for Information & Broadcasting.

Awards and recognitions

* 2005 –

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

* 20042005 – the

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award The Khel Ratna Award (), officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award ( Major Dhyan Chand Sport Jewel Award), is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Governm ...

(Highest Sporting Honour of India). * 20032004 –

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

* ''

Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) is a military award of India given to recognize "distinguished service of an exceptional order" to all ranks of the armed forces. The award is a peacetime equivalent of Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal, which is a Wartime Dis ...

'' (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 A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. * Rathore was the chosen flag bearer for

during the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

* 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

References

External links

"Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore"
No 55 on ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
Weblog maintained by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Images & Videos
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathore, Rajyavardhan Singh 1970 births Living people Indian male sport shooters Olympic shooters of India Olympic silver medalists for India Commonwealth Games gold medallists for India Rajasthani people Shooters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Shooters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Sport shooters from Rajasthan Indian Army officers Trap and double trap shooters Recipients of the Arjuna Award People from Jaisalmer district Olympic medalists in shooting Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in shooting Shooters at the 1998 Asian Games Shooters at the 2002 Asian Games Shooters at the 2006 Asian Games India MPs 2014–2019 Lok Sabha members from Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Rajasthan Narendra Modi ministry Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India People from Jaisalmer Indian sportsperson-politicians Commonwealth Games medallists in shooting National Defence Academy (India) alumni Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games India MPs 2019–present