Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is an Indian politician, former soldier and retired sport shooter. He is best known for winning India's first individual silver medal at the Olympic Games in shooting, achieved in the men's double trap event at the 2004 Athens Olympics. After retiring from competitive shooting and the Indian Army, he entered politics with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has served as a Union Minister of State as well as a Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly in Rajasthan.
| Full name | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970, Rajasthan, India |
| Profession | Politician, former Army officer, former sport shooter |
| Sport | Shooting (double trap) |
| Olympic medal | Silver, Men's Double Trap, Athens 2004 |
| Military service | Indian Army (Grenadiers Regiment), retired with the rank of Colonel |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| Constituency (Lok Sabha) | Jaipur Rural |
| Constituency (Rajasthan Assembly) | Jhotwara |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri, Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna |
Rathore was born in 1970 into a Rajput family from Rajasthan. He studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya and at the Rashtriya Indian Military College, Dehradun, before joining the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. He was commissioned into the Grenadiers Regiment of the Indian Army through the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. During his service, he also pursued higher studies, including programmes in management.
Rathore took up competitive shotgun shooting while serving in the Army and rose rapidly through national and international ranks during the early 2000s.
He represented India at successive ISSF World Cup events and Asian Championships during this period and was widely regarded as one of the leading double trap shooters in the world.
Rathore served in the Grenadiers Regiment of the Indian Army and took voluntary retirement at the rank of Colonel to pursue public life. His Army career included regimental service and representation of the armed forces in national and international shooting competitions.
Rathore joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013 ahead of the 2014 general election.
Rathore occupies a distinctive place in Indian public life as one of the few individuals to have combined a career as a decorated armed forces officer, an Olympic medallist, and a Union Minister. His Athens 2004 silver is often cited as a turning point that broadened public attention towards Olympic shooting in India and contributed to the subsequent rise of Indian shooters such as Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar. As Sports Minister, he was associated with policy initiatives that sought to expand school- and college-level participation in competitive sport.
Rathore is married to Gayatri Rathore, and the couple have two children. He has authored writings drawing on his experiences in the Army and in elite sport, and has been associated with public campaigns on fitness and youth engagement.