Many sportsperson tweeted to express their happiness over the appointment of Rathore as sports minister.
The country's sports fraternity welcomed the appointment of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as the new sports minister and wished him the best for his new stint.
Rathore, who won a silver in double trap event in 2004 Athens Olympics, replaced Vijay Goel as the sports minister. He was earlier the minister of state in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
Fellow shooter and India's lone individual Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was delighted at Rathore being made the sports minister.
"Delighted to see @Ra_THORe is the new sports minister. All the very very best!," said Bindra, who won a gold in 10m air rifle at the 2008 Beijing Games, in a tweet.
Another fellow shooter and London Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang also expressed happiness at Rathore's appointment.
"@Ra_THORe your elevation raises hope because you have been there, done that & know what an athlete is made of. Heartiest Congratulations," Narang wrote.
London Olympics bronze medallist boxer Mary Kom congratulated Rathore and wished him success in his new role.
"I wish to congratulate @Ra_THORe on your new new role and I wish you every success in your new duties," Mary Kom, also a Rajya Sabha member, wrote on her Twitter.
Rajiv Khel Ratna awardee paralympian Devendra Jhajharia tweeted, "Thank you @VijayGoelBJP ji for all your support.Many congratulations to @Ra_THORe ji. Look forward to achieving sporting excellence."
Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar wrote, "Many congratulations on the new role @Ra_THORe sir! All the very best!"
Former Indian hockey captain Viren Rasquinha described Rathore's appointment as a good development for Indian sports.
"An inspirational Olympic medal winner as our new Sports Minister. Good times ahead for Indian sport. Congratulations @Ra_THORe," tweeted Rasquinha.
Olympian shooter Joydeep Karmakar said: "extremely delighted to have one of 'us' leading the Sports Ministry. Looking forward..@Ra_THORe."
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh hailed Rathore being made the sports minister, saying Indian sports can get better results under his charge.
Wishing Rathore the very best for his new stint, the 'Flying Sikh' said, "Having Rathore at the helm means one can expect better results. He knows inside out and what it takes to win medals at the highest level."
"I had been demanding for the past over two years that Rathore should be made the sports minister. Recently, I had a chance to meet BJP chief Amit Shah over dinner and I told him that Rathore was the most deserving person to be given the job. Mr Shah had then told me that he will definitely look into it," 85-year-old Milkha said.
"I am very happy that Rathore has been given the sports portfolio," he said.
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