Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (born 29 January 1970) is an Indian politician, Olympic medallist in shooting and retired colonel in the Indian Army. He is serving as a cabinet minister at the Industry & Commerce, Youth Affairs & Sports Department in the Government of Rajasthan since December 2023. Rathore was a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Jaipur Rural seat since 2014 till 2023.

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore AVSM OLY
Cabinet Minister Government of Rajasthan
Incumbent
Assumed office 30 December 2023
Governor	Haribhau Bagade
Chief Minister	Bhajan Lal Sharma
Ministry and Departments	Industry and Commerce Information Technology and Communication Youth Affairs and Sports Skill Planning and Entrepreneurship Sainik Welfare
Preceded by	Shakuntala Rawat
Member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 December 2023 (2023-12-03)
Preceded by	Lalchand Kataria
Constituency	Jhotwara
Majority	147,913 (47.75%)
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports
In office 3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Vijay Goel
Succeeded by	Kiren Rijiju
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information and Broadcasting
In office 9 November 2014 – 24 May 2018
Minister of Information and Broadcasting
In office 24 May 2018 – 24 May 2019
Prime Minister	Narendra Modi
Preceded by	Smriti Irani
Succeeded by	Prakash Javadekar
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 16 May 2014 (2014-05-16) – 6 December 2023
Preceded by	Lalchand Kataria
Succeeded by	Rao Rajendra Singh
Constituency	Jaipur Rural
Majority	332,896 (32.84%)
Personal details
Born	(1970-01-29) 29 January 1970 (age 55) Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Spouse	Gayatri Rathore ​ (m. 1997)​ [2]
Children	2
Alma mater	National Defence Academy, Pune Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
Military service
Allegiance	India
Branch/service	Indian Army
Years of service	1990 – 2013
Rank	Colonel
Unit	9th Grenadiers
Battles/wars	Kargil War, CI/CT operations in J&K [3]
Awards	Padma Shri Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Khel Ratna Award
Sports career
Sport	Shooting
Event	Double trap
Medal record Men's shooting[4] Representing  India Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games – 1 – Commonwealth Games 3 1 – Asian Games - 1 1 World Shotgun Championship - - 1 ISSF World Shooting Championship 1 1 2 Asian Clay Target Championship 5 - - Total 9 4 4 Olympic Games 2004 Athens Double trap Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester Double trap individual 2002 Manchester Double trap pairs 2006 Melbourne Double trap individual 2006 Melbourne Double trap pairs Asian Games 2006 Doha Double trap teams 2006 Doha Double trap World Shotgun Championship 2003 Cyprus Double trap individual ISSF World Shooting Championship 2006 Granada Double trap individual 2004 Sydney Double trap individual 2006 Cairo Double trap individual 2003 New Delhi Double trap individual Asian Clay Target Championship 2003 New Delhi Double trap individual 2004 Bangkok Double trap individual 2005 Bangkok Double trap individual 2006 Singapore Double trap individual 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

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 also acted in some advertisements and tv shows after that he later became a 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 served as a Cabinet minister with independent charge for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2017^[7] until 2019.^[8]

Personal life

Rajyavardhan was born in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan to Colonel Lakshman Singh Rathore (Retd.), an Army Colonel of Garabdesar, Lunkaransar, Bikaner,^[9]and Manju Raghav Bhondsi, a teacher,^[10][11] on 29 January 1970.^[12][13][14]

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.^[12]

He married Maj. Gayatri Rathore (nee Kapkoti), hailing from Kapkot-Almora in Uttarakhand, on 16 February 1997. She served as a doctor by profession in the Indian Army. They have a son and a daughter.^[12][13][15]

Military career

Rathore is a graduate of the 77th Course of the National Defence Academy.^[16] After graduating from the NDA, Rathore attended the Indian Military Academy 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.^[13]

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.^[17][18] Rathore fought in the Kargil War,^[3] and was promoted to major on 15 December 2000.^[19] 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 the Army Chief's Citation and the Governor of J&K's Citation for exemplary work.^[13] He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 16 December 2004,^[20] and to his final rank of colonel on 1 May 2009.^[21]

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. In addition to these achievements, Rathore won a gold medal at the Olympic Games, a bronze medal at the World Championships, a bronze medal at the World Cup Final, and two gold medals and a bronze medal at the World Cup. He also secured five gold medals and a bronze medal at the Asian Championships and a bronze medal at the Asian Games. Altogether, Rathore has amassed a total of 13 medals in his sports career.

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.^[22][13]

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.^[13] 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 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.^[4]

Political career

On 10 September 2013, Rathore joined Bharatiya Janata Party after taking retirement from the Indian Army.^[23] He was elected as an MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Jaipur Rural constituency.^[24] On 9 November 2014, he was sworn-in as the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, under the Narendra Modi government.^[25] He was appointed the Minister of Sports on 3 September 2017. In May 2018, he became Minister of State (I/C) for Information & Broadcasting.^[13] In the 2019 Indian general election, he retained the Jaipur Rural seat by over 3.93 lakh votes and was elected to the Lok Sabha for the second time.^[26]

In November 2023, Rathore contested from Jhotwara Assembly constituency for the 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election.^[27] He defeated Abhishek Chaudhary of the INC by 50,167 votes. After winning the elections,^[28] Rathore resigned from Lok Sabha.^[29] On 30 December 2023, he took oath as a cabinet minister in the Government of Rajasthan.^[30]

Awards and recognitions

• 2005 – Padma Shri^[31]
• 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.^[32]
• 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. Venkat, Rahul (16 August 2020). "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's Olympic silver taught Indian shooters to aim for the stars". Olympics. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
2. "A Sure Shot". The Tribune. 21 August 2004. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
3. "Work smart rather than just hard". Rediff India Abroad. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
4. "ISSF - International Shooting Sport Federation - issf-sports.org". www.issf-sports.org. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
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. "Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Biography – About family, political life, awards won, history". Elections in India.
9. "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore".
10. "गुरु द्रोण की धरती पर यह गांव है वीर जवानों का.. -". Jagran (in Hindi). 13 August 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
11. "अब राज्यवर्धन सिंह पर टिकी हैं निगाहें". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). 12 August 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
12. "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
13. "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Olympic silver medallist appointed sports minister". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
14. Singh, Harsha Kumari; Paul, Rohit (24 November 2023). "Olympic Medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore Now Takes Aim At Rajasthan Assembly". NDTV. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
15. "सुसराल में आवभगत से गदगद दिखे केंद्रीय मंत्री -". Jagran (in Hindi). 21 January 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
16. ":: Welcome to National Defence Academy ::". Archived from the original on 9 September 2015.
17. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 9 October 1993. p. 1871.
18. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 23 March 1996. p. 390.
19. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 15 December 2001. p. 1464.
20. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 3 December 2005. p. 2419.
21. "Part I-Section 4: Ministry of Defence (Army Branch)". The Gazette of India. 27 November 2010. p. 2207.
22. "Shooter Rathore strikes silver". rediff.com. 17 August 2004.
23. "Olympic medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore joins BJP". The Times of India. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013.
24. "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.
25. "'Come, Have Breakfast With Me and Take Oath, PM Modi Said': Rajyavardhan Rathore to NDTV". NDTV. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
26. "Lok Sabha 2019 election results: BJP's Rajyavardhan Rathore wins from Jaipur Rural with 64% votes". CNBCTV18. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
27. Shekhawat, Bal Virendra Singh; Mishra, Nishant (4 November 2023). "Rajasthan Election 2023: तमाम विरोधों के बीच राज्यवर्धन राठौड़ का नामांकन आज, झोटवाड़ा सीट से बनाए गए हैं भाजपा के प्रत्याशी". NDTV (in Hindi). Retrieved 1 November 2023.
28. "Rajasthan polls: BJP's Rajyavardhan Rathore wins from Jhotwara with margin of 50,000 votes". The Economic Times. PTI. 3 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
29. Saha, Poulomi; Mishra, Himanshu (6 December 2023). "10 of 12 BJP MPs who won state elections resign from Lok Sabha". India Today. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
30. "Rajasthan Cabinet Expansion: Rajyavardhan among 22 new ministers | Full list". Mint. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
31. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
32. "ŠRathore to be India's flag bearer in Beijing". ndtv.com. 4 August 2008.

External links

• Official website
• "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore", No 55 on Time's list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
• Weblog maintained by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for the 2008 Beijing Olympics
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Images & Videos

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 Leander Paes	Flagbearer for India Beijing 2008	Succeeded by Sushil Kumar