The National Rifle Association of India today welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as sports minister, saying the Olympics silver medallist would "add immense value to the development and growth of sports".
The 2004 Athens Games medallist Rathore was today appointed the new sports minister in place of Vijay Goel.
"I want to lead the federation and the entire shooting fraternity in congratulating Shri Rathore on his appointment. He has been one of the most distinguished members of the shooting family for years and his stellar achievements speak for themselves," NRAI president Raninder Singh said in a statement.
Rathore first stepped in a shooting range in the mid 1990s and some years later, he became India's first ever individual silver medal winner at the Olympic Games. He stood on the podium after finishing second in the men's double trap at the 2004 Athens Games.
Lavishing praise on Rathore, Raninder said, "His work in the Union Council of Ministers had already come in for a lot of praise and we strongly believe that knowing first-hand the challenges faced by sports and sportspersons in this country, he would add immense value to the development and growth of sports. We wish him all the very best in his new responsibility."
A year before he created Olympic history, Rathore had won a silver medal at the 2003 World Championships in Sydney.
After taking premature retirement from the Indian army, Rathore joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2013 and was sworn in as minister of state for information & broadcasting when the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014.
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