40 previous year UPSC Prelims questions on sports and games are on this page, from 1996 to 2009. UPSC asked about tennis tournaments and champions, cricket records, football tournaments and India’s Olympic record. The explanations give the result as it stood then, so some records have since changed.
Explanations state facts as of the year each question was asked; words like “recently” refer to that year.
Showing 31–40 of 40 questions
In Test cricket history, only two matches have ended in a tie, both involving Australia. The first was against the West Indies in Brisbane (1960), where Australia fell just one run short of victory. The second was against India in Chennai (1986), where India, needing four runs with one wicket in hand, was bowled out with scores level.
Option (b) is correct: The 9th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Fukuoka, Japan, in 2001. Ian Thorpe, an Australian swimmer, won six gold medals at the event.
The latest FINA World Swimming Championships, officially known as the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), took place from December 10 to 15, 2024, in Budapest, Hungary. The United States topped the medal table, securing 18 golds and a total of 39 medals, while breaking 21 world records during the event. Switzerland’s Noe Ponti was named the best male swimmer, and the USA’s Gretchen Walsh received the best female swimmer award.
The 2001 World Badminton Championships were held in Seville, Spain from June 3 to June 10, 2001. The men’s singles title was won by Hendrawan of Indonesia. He defeated Peter Gade of Denmark in the final match with a score of 15-6, 17-14.
At the 2023 BWF World Championships held in Copenhagen, Denmark, Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn clinched the men’s singles title by defeating Japan’s Kodai Naraoka in the final. In women’s event, South Korea’s An Se-young clinched the women’s singles title by defeating Spain’s Carolina Marin in the final. The 2025 event is scheduled to be held in Paris.
Alexei Shirov is a Latvian-born Spanish chess grandmaster. He has represented Spain in international competitions since 1996.
Some notable chess players:
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Fabiano Caruana (USA) Liren Ding (China) Viswanathan Anand (India) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) D. Gukesh became the youngest ever chess world champion at the age of 18, defeating China’s Ding Liren (2023 World Chess Champion) in the 2024 FIDE World Chess Championship held in Singapore. Gukesh is only the third Asian to win the World championship after Viswanathan Anand (India) and Ding Liren (China).
| List-I (Sports women) | List-II (Sport) |
|---|---|
| A. Anjali Vedpathak | 1. Athletics |
| B. Mouma Das | 2. Gymnastics |
| C. Neelam Singh | 3. Rifle Shooting |
| D. Tumpa Debnath | 4. Table Tennis |
| 5. Chess |
Anjali Vedpathak (Rifle Shooting): A top Indian rifle shooter, was ranked world No. 1 in the 10m air rifle event, with multiple international medals. Mouma Das (Table Tennis): A prominent Indian table tennis player, representing India in the Commonwealth Games and Olympics. Neelam Singh (Athletics): An Indian discus thrower, who competed in international events like the Asian and Commonwealth Games. Tumpa Debnath (Gymnastics): An Indian gymnast known for her performances in national and international gymnastics competitions.
Famous Indian Women Chess Player:
Koneru Humpy Harika Dronavalli Tania Sachdev Vaishali Rameshbabu Divya Deshmukh Vantika Agrawal
To reach the final of the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year 2000, Martina Hingis defeated Conchita Martinez 6-3,6-2.
In tennis, the Grand Slam refers to winning all four major tournaments in the same calendar year. These four tournaments are:
1. Australian Open (held in Melbourne, Australia)
2. French Open (held in Paris, France)
3. Wimbledon (held in London, United Kingdom)
4. US Open (held in New York City, United States)
Australian Open:
Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes (2012) Mixed Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi (2006, 2009), Leander Paes (2003, 2010, 2015), Sania Mirza (2009) French Open:
Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes (1999, 2001, 2009) Mixed Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi (1997, 2012), Rohan Bopanna (2017) Wimbledon:
Men’s Doubles: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi (1999) Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes (1999, 2003, 2010, 2015), Mahesh Bhupathi (2002, 2005), Sania Mirza (2015) US Open:
Men’s Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi (2002), Leander Paes (2006, 2009, 2013) Mixed Doubles: Mahesh Bhupathi (1999, 2005), Leander Paes (2008, 2015), Sania Mirza (2014)
The 2004 Summer Olympics took place in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected Athens as the host city in 1997, defeating cities like Rome, Cape Town, Buenos Aires, and Stockholm.
India last won a gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics in men’s field hockey. This was the country’s eighth Olympic gold in field hockey and the last gold medal India won in field hockey. India’s men’s hockey team has won 8 Olympic gold medals: 1928 Amsterdam: India’s first-ever Olympic gold medal was won at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics under the leadership of Dhyan Chand. 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1964 Tokyo 1980 Moscow
India’s men’s hockey team has also won bronze medals in the 1968, 1972, 2020, and 2024 Olympics. India won six medals - a silver and five bronze - at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In 1995, Indian hockey saw a resurgence due to the following key achievements:
India won the Azlan Shah Cup in 1995, which was a significant achievement in international hockey. India defeated Bangladesh in the final of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games (now called the South Asian Games), further boosting morale. By 1995, India had successfully qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, ensuring participation in the prestigious event.
Over the past five years, the Indian men’s hockey team has achieved several notable victories. They won a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, their first in 41 years. In 2023, they claimed gold at both the Asian Champions Trophy and the Asian Games. They continued their success by winning another bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. v v v
| Q | UPSC year | Correct answer |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | 2002 | (a) Australia |
| 32 | 2002 | (b) Ian Thorpe |
| 33 | 2002 | (b) Hendrawan |
| 34 | 2001 | (d) Spain |
| 35 | 2001 | (a) A-3; B-4; C-1; D-2 |
| 36 | 2000 | (d) Conchita Martinez |
| 37 | 1999 | (a) Australian Open, Wimbledon, French Open, U.S. Open |
| 38 | 1998 | (d) None of these |
| 39 | 1996 | (b) Moscow (1980) |
| 40 | 1996 | (c) 1 and 3 are correct |
This page covers 40 previous year UPSC Prelims GS Paper-I questions on Sports and Games (General Knowledge), asked from 1996 to 2009. Each has the correct answer and an explanation.
Greece, a surprise winner of the tournament, beat the hosts Portugal 1-0 in the final in Lisbon. It was Greece’s first major international football title, and the result was seen as one of football’s biggest upsets.
At Moscow in 1980, according to the question’s date of 2006. India later won its first individual Olympic gold when Abhinav Bindra won in shooting at Beijing in 2008, and hockey gold in 1980 remained the last for the team then.
Cara Black of Zimbabwe. The pair beat Liezel Huber of the United States and Jamie Murray of Britain in the final to win the mixed doubles title at the 2008 US Open.
