Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore has been appointed as India’s sports minister in the latest cabinet reshuffle of the Narendra Modi government on Sunday. He has been named as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Rathore is the first sportsperson to take charge of sports ministry. The former shooter, who was till now serving as minister of state for information & broadcasting, will takeover the responsibility from Vijay Goel. The former sports minister will now be minister of state for parliamentary affairs and statistics and programme implementation.
The news of Rathore’s appointment was welcomed on Twitter.
Congrats Rajyavardhan Rathore for getting the charge of Sports Ministry!
Can’t say the same about others-But @Ra_THORe is a good choice! pic.twitter.com/BmB3S0RFxu— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) September 3, 2017
Rathore 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.