- Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Infobox Person
name=Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
imagesize =
birth_date=birth date and age|1970|1|29
occupation=Sportsman (Shooter )Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (bornJanuary 29 ,1970 inJaisalmer ,Rajasthan ) is anIndia nshooter who won the silver medal in Men'sDouble Trap at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens . [http://www.rediff.com/sports/2004/aug/17oly-shoot1.htm] He is the first Indian to win an individual silver, afterNorman Pritchard who won two silver medals at the1900 Paris Olympics . [http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2008/results/historical/athletes/16384.htm]Career
In the
2004 Athens Olympics Rathore finished fifth in the qualification round with 135 points, behind eventual gold medal winnerAhmed Almaktoum 's 144.Håkan Dahlby (138) andWang Zheng (137) were placed second and third whileWaldemar Schanz 's score of 135 was equal with Rathore. Rathore scored 46, 43 and 46 in each of rounds.In the finals, Rathore scored 44, second best behind Almaktoum's 45 giving him a total of 179, ten behind Almaktoum but one ahead of Wang Zheng's 178.
Rathore's silver equalled India's best individual olympic performance till
Abhinav Bindra won India' first individual gold medal in the2008 Beijing Olympics .In the
2006 Commonwealth Games inMelbourne , he was the member of the winning team in the double trap event. He won the gold in the individual and team events in men's double trap at the 2005 Asian Clay Shooting championships atBangkok . The gold in the individual event was the third consecutive one for Rathore at the annual events after the ones in 2003 and 2004, thus constituting ahat trick .Rathore failed to qualify for the finals of the Men's Double Trap event at the
2008 Beijing Olympics , placing 15th in the qualification round. [cite web|last =|first =|title = Results of Men's Double Trap Qualification-Shoot-Off|url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/SH/C73I/SHM402950.shtml#SHM402950|accessdate = 2006-08-13 ]He is a Lt. Colonel in the
Indian Army . An alumnus of National Defence Academy, KhadakwaslaPune (N.D.A)Awards and Recognitions
* 2003-2004 -
Arjuna award
* 2004-2005 - theRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (India's the highest sporting honour of India).
* Rathore is a recipient of thePadma Shri , a civilian award from theGovernment of India
* "Ati Vishisht Seva Medal " (AVSM), a non-gallantry award for exceptional service, presented by the government. He is thefirst officer (from theIndian Army ) below the rank of brigadier to be awarded the AVSM.
* Rathore was the chosen flag bearer forIndia during the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing ,China . [cite news|date=2008-08-04 |title=ŠRathore to be India's flag bearer in Beijing|publisher=www.ndtv.com|url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/showsports.aspx?id=SPOEN20080060015]See also
*
List of Rajputs References
External links
* [http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1819129_1819134_1825951,00.html "Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore"] , No 55 on "Time"’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"
* [http://chillyrathore.blogspot.com/ Weblog maintained by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for the 2008 Beijing Olympics]
* [http://www.indiatwo.com/olympics/Rajyavardhan-Singh-Rathore Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Images & Videos]
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