Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

India had not seen a victory since Karni Singh of Bikaner, who won a silver at the 1962 World shooting Championship in Cairo.

Colonel 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 born in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan 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.

Rathore is a graduate of the 77th Course of the National Defence Academy.

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.

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.

He married Gayatri Rathore on 16 February 1997, she is a doctor by profession in the Indian Army.

They have a son and a daughter.

Rathore fought in the Kargil War, and was promoted to major on 15 December 2000.

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.

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.

Between 2002 and 2006 he won 25 international medals at various championships for Double Trap.

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.

Rathore is credited with winning the Asian Clay Target gold medal four times in a row from 2003 to 2006.

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.

He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 16 December 2004, and to his final rank of colonel on 1 May 2009.

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.

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.

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 also holds an Individual bronze medal which was at the Asian Games 2006 in Doha.

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.

Rathore served as a commissioned officer in The Grenadiers regiment of the Indian Army before retiring in 2013 as a colonel.

On 10 September 2013, Rathore joined Bharatiya Janata Party after taking retirement from the Indian Army.

Rathore was a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Jaipur Rural seat since 2014 till 2023.

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.

He was elected as an MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Jaipur Rural constituency.

Rathore served as a Cabinet minister with independent charge for Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2017 until 2019.