PATNA: Shreyasi Singh, 34, is an Olympian shooter and one of India’s leading sportswomen who has now become the youngest minister in the Nitish Kumar cabinet. The two-term MLA from Jamui joins the Bihar government carrying both her sporting laurels and a rising political profile.

She is the youngest daughter of the late Digvijay Singh, a former Union minister in the Chandra Shekhar government, and of former MP Putul Kumari. However, her first stage was not a political rally; it was the shooting range. Long before she took the ministerial oath, she lifted the tricolour on international podiums.

An Olympian and one of India’s most decorated shooters, Shreyasi’s sporting arc is studded with milestones: a gold in Women’s Double Trap at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, a silver in Glasgow in 2014, and a bronze at the Asian Games in Incheon the same year.

She also became the first player from Bihar to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, riding on the momentum of her gold at the 61st National Shooting Championship. The Arjuna Award that adorns her shelf is only a formal acknowledgement of her achievements.

After being sworn in, she thanked her voters and pledged to work harder for them. An MBA from Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, she enters the cabinet with assets of Rs 7.6 crore, liabilities of Rs 13.3 lakh, and an annual income of Rs 94.2 lakh. She is likely to receive the sports portfolio.

Shreyasi Singh stands at a rare intersection: Olympian precision and political instinct combine in one of Bihar’s youngest ministers.