Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore AVSM (born 29 January 1970) is a retired soldier of the Indian Army, a veteran shooter, and a politician, currently serving as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in the Indian government. Rathore won the Silver Medal in Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, being the first Indian sportsperson to win an individual Silver for India since 1900.
Rathore served as a commissioned officer in the Indian Army retiring as a colonel in 2013. He joined politics as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected to the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of the Indian Parliament) in 2014 ,and was appointed as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in the Narendra Modi government.

Rathore was born in Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) he was the decendant of Rao Bika ji the first Ruler of bikaner

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 Medal for India at the 2004 Athens Olympics in Double Trap.

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 Bronze at the World Championship in 2003 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 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.

On 10 September 2013, Rathore joined Bharatiya Janata Party after taking premature retirement from the Indian Army. He was elected as a MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Jaipur Rural constituency. On 9 November 2014, he was sworn-in as the Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, under the Narendra Modi government.

• 2005 - Padma Shri
• 2004-2005 - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (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.
• 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