Sporting glory

1. India has sent a 127-athlete contingent to the Tokyo Olympics, its highest ever. Among them, Bhavani Devi is the first ever Indian Olympic athlete in which specific discipline?

2. If Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh are to be India’s flagbearers in the Tokyo Olympics, and Abhinav Bindra was the flagbearer at Rio, who was given that honour in the 2012 London Olympics?

3. In Olympic history, what specifically did Joe Verdeur’s 1948 Summer Olympics win in the men’s 200m breaststroke in London prompt?

4. In which sport did Bradley Wiggins become the first Briton to win three medals at a single Olympics in 40 years in 2004?

5. This player is technically the first player from the state of Kerala to play Test cricket and later went on to play in the IPL. His father held the Indian long jump record for decades and represented India in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Name the father or son.

6. India has a glorious history in Olympic hockey, but has also actually reached the semi-finals in Olympic football as well. Name the year and the host city.

7. In 1960, who, nicknamed the ‘Black Gazelle’ became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic?

8. In 1976 Klaus Dibiasi became the first ever athlete in this discipline to win Olympic gold medals in three successive Olympics. In which event did he participate?

9. What was unique about the pigeon shooting contest in the 1900 Olympic Games?

10. Americans Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson were the favourites for the 100 metres sprint event at the Munich Olympics in 1972, but a tragic mistake by their coach caused them to miss their heats and get eliminated. Which athlete, representing a Cold War rival, ended up winning the event?

Answers

1. Fencing, she specialises in the sabre.

2. Sushil Kumar.

3. Butterfly being a separate category from the next Olympics as seven of the eight finalists used the Butterfly technique in the finals.

4. Cycling. Wiggins won the 4km individual pursuit gold, the team silver and the track Madison bronze.

5. TC Yohannan, whose son Tinu Yohannan played for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) in 2009.

6. 1956, Melbourne. Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee was the captain and Syed Abdul Rahim was the coach.

7. Wilma Rudolph, she had polio and wore a leg brace till she was 12.

8. Diving, specifically platform diving.

9. It was the only Olympics in which real pigeons were used. More than 300 pigeons died and since then only clay pigeons have been used in the Games.

10. Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union. Hart and Robinson had to be satisfied with the 4x100 metres relay gold medal.

Joy

Joy Bhattacharjya

 

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;

Twitter: @joybhattacharj

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