Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Born	January 29, 1970 (1970-01-29)
Occupation	Sportsman (Shooter)

Medal record
Competitor for India
Men's shooting
Olympic Games
Silver	2004 Athens	Double trap
Commonwealth Games
Gold	2006 Melbourne	Double trap individual
Silver	2006 Melbourne	Double trap pairs
Gold	2002 Manchester	Double trap individual
Gold	2002 Manchester	Double trap pairs
Asian Games
Bronze	2006 Doha	Double trap
Silver	2006 Doha	Double trap teams
World Shotgun Championship
Bronze	2003 Cyprus	Double trap individual
Asian Clay Target Championship
Gold	2006 Singapore	Double trap individual
Gold	2005 Bangkok	Double trap individual
Gold	2004 Bangkok	Double trap individual
Gold	2003 New Delhi	Double trap individual

Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (born January 29, 1970 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan) is an Indian shooter who won the silver medal in Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He is the first Indian (post independence) to win an individual silver, after Norman Pritchard, a British citizen, who won two silver medals at the 1900 Paris Olympics.

Career

Rathore's silver was India's best individual Olympic performance post Indian Independence. In the numerous Olympic Games, India could not go beyond a Bronze Medal (Leander Paes, Tennis, 1996 Olympics; Karnam Malleshwari, Weight Lifting, 2000 Olympics), Rathore is credited for reviving the self belief of millions of Indians by his Silver Medal win. This Silver Medal win was a turning point in the history of Indian Olympic Sports.

In the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, he won the Individual Gold Medal setting a new Commonwealth Games Record, 192 targets out of 200, which still stands. He also won the Team Gold Medal 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 has won Gold Medals in two World Cup Shooting Competitions, in (Sydney) 2004 and (Cairo) 2006. In 2006 he won the Bronze Medal in the World Cup Final in (Spain) (an event only for the top 12 shooters of the world). He was ranked no 3 in the world for the most of the year of 2003 and 2004 and briefly went on to be the world no 1 in early 2004 and the world no 2 after the Athens Olympics. He also won a world Championship Bronze Medal in 2003 after a gap of nearly 40 years (earlier in 1962 Karni Singh of Bikaner had won a silver medal in the World shooting Championship in Cairo). Incidentally Rathore too belongs to the family of Bikaner. Rajyavardhan is accredited for winning the Asian Clay Target Gold Medal for four times in a row, year 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. He also holds an Individual Bronze Medal which he won in Doha, Asian Games 2006.In all, from the period of 2002 to 2006 he had won 25 International Medals in highly competitive competitions in his sport of Doubletrap Shooting.

He is a now a Colonel in the Indian Army. An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla Pune (N.D.A)

Awards and recognitions

• 2004-2005 - the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (Highest Sporting Honour of India).
• 2003-2004 - Arjuna Award
• Rathore is a recipient of the Padma Shri, a civilian award from the Government of India
• 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).

See also

• List of Rajputs

References

• "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