Sports Ministry gets a minister it needed, finally

Chandigarh, September 4
In Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore, we’ve got the first sportsperson-minister to head the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Over the last 26 years, we’ve had politicians, ex-bureaucrats and an actor (Sunil Dutt) as Sports Minister. In terms of field of expertise, Rathore is the best-qualified Sports Minister India has ever had.
It’s not that world-class sportspersons have not entered Parliament in the past — we’ve had Aslam Sher Khan, Karni Singh, Chetan Chauhan, Kirti Azad, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mohammad Azharuddin as MPs. None of them, however, made it to the Sports Ministry.
Colonel Rathore, the first Indian shooter to win a medal at the Olympics (in double trap, Athens 2004), took voluntary retirement from Indian Army in 2013 and joined the BJP, and was elected as an MP from Jaipur Rural the next year. He was the best-qualified MP to head the Sports Ministry in 2014, though the job went to Sarbananda Sonowal before Jitendra Singh took over as a stop-gap arrangement for less than two months last year. In July 2016, Vijay Goel was named the Sports Minister.
Poor record
The record of the two previous long-term Sports Ministers, Sonowal and Goel, is not great. Sonowal could not clean up the national sports federations, and the Sports Bill continued to remain in a state of limbo. Officials in various sports continued to run their associations like personal fiefdoms.
Goel today said that he was successful in his 14 months as Sports Minister, but this is a debatable claim. The problems he inherited were not solved. Then, the Sports Ministry had been hopeful of winning 10-plus medals at the Rio Olympic Games, but India won only two. Goel himself landed in a controversy when the Olympics organisers threatened to cancel his accreditation over Goel “trying to enter accredited areas at venues with unaccredited individuals”. As India’s performance in three recent World Championships (badminton, wrestling, boxing) shows, the country’s sportspersons are running on their own steam. Bureaucratic hurdles have negated the good government funding and support could have done.
Rathore’s job
Deep domain knowledge doesn’t necessarily lead to excellence — one doesn’t need to be a great doctor to run the Health Ministry, for instance. But domain knowledge does help, too. Rathore indeed has an advantage over the sports ministers of the past — he knows exactly what is needed to be done in order to become an elite international sportsperson. A very fine golfer too, Rathore knows the challenges that confront Indian sportspersons. He himself benefitted from the Army’s excellent infrastructure and job security in his pursuit of shooting, but he would be aware of the difficulties faced by an average Indian sportsperson. Today he talked about removing hurdles faced by India’s sportspersons.
“Let’s create systems that take away all hurdles from the sportsmen other than his adversary,” Rathore said. “Let’s create a new India that is fit, mentally and physically strong and is able to win medals for this country.” He used the words “sportsmen” and “his”, though we can be certain that it’s just due to habit, and that he would include women sportspersons in his plans.
India’s sports community has welcomed Rathore’s appointment. “An inspirational Olympic medal winner as our new Sports Minister. Good times ahead for Indian sport,” said former Indian hockey captain Viren Rasquinha.
Rathore must live up to the hopes.
Rathore’s sporting feats
Won silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He was the first India shooter to win an Olympics medal
Won gold in the individual and team events in the men’s double trap at the 2005 Asian Clay Shooting Championships at Bangkok
Won double trap team gold at the 2005 Commonwealth Shooting Championships
Conferred Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2004
All the best
Delighted to see Rathore as the new sports minister. All the very very best! — Abhinav Bindra
Your elevation raises hope because you have been there, done that and know what an athlete is made of — Gagan Narang
It’s a wise decision to give Rathore the command. I had requested PM to appoint Rathore as the Sports Minister. A decorated Olympian and army man should lead the sport management in the country — Milkha Singh
Many congratulations on the new role Rathore sir! All the very best! — Dipa Karmakar
An inspirational Olympics medal winner as our new Sports Minister. Good times ahead for Indian sport. Congratulations!

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