Which athlete's silver medal ended India's 44-year wait for a marathon medal at the Asian Games?

The correct answer is 27. Athletes of the three Services returned from the Asian Games in Japan with 27 medals, broken up as 6 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze, which is the best the defence forces have ever managed at the event. Option A, 21, is the number of gold medals won by the whole Indian contingent, not the Services total. Option C, 37, is the number of bronze medals in India's overall tally, so it too belongs to the national figure and not to the Services. Option D, 85, is India's complete medal haul at these Games, of which the Services share worked out to 32 per cent. A candidate who keeps the two layers apart, the national count and the Services count, will not confuse these numbers. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh felicitated the medal winners in New Delhi on 12 October 2026.

The correct answer is Naib Subedar Neeru Dhanda. She finished the Games with two gold and one silver, and her win in the individual women's trap event made her the first Indian woman to take gold in that shooting event at the Asian Games. Option B, Havildar Sawan Barwal, is a male marathon runner whose silver came in a national record time and ended a long gap in that event, so he could not have competed in a women's event. Option C, Naib Subedar Gulveer Singh, won two silver and one bronze and is the first Indian man in track and field to take three individual medals at one edition of the Games. Option D, Naib Subedar Sarvesh Kushare, won his medal in the men's high jump. Only option A matches both the event and the first.

The correct answer is Sampurnanand Sanskrit University. After addressing the gathering and administering the pledge against drug use, the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports led the riders out of Namo Ghat and the rally finished at that university, covering a distance of roughly 5.5 km through the city. Option A, Banaras Hindu University, is wrong because the institution named as the end point of the rally was the Sanskrit university and not BHU. Option C, Dashashwamedh Ghat, is wrong because the ghat connected with the event was Namo Ghat, which is where the meditation session, the cultural performance and the start of the ride took place. Option D, Sarnath, is wrong because the route described for this edition stayed within the city streets and did not extend to that site.

The correct answer is Raj Kumar Pal, who won his gold medal as a member of the Indian men’s hockey team at the Asian Games held in Aichi-Nagoya. He was one of four medallists honoured at the cycling event in Varanasi. Option A, Prachi Chaudhary, is wrong because her medal at those Games was a bronze in the women’s quarter-mile event on the track. Option B, Parul Chaudhary, is wrong because she took two bronze medals rather than a gold, one in the women’s steeplechase and the other in the longer distance race. Option C, Jay Kumar, is wrong because his medals were a silver in the mixed relay and a bronze in the men’s relay, so neither of them was gold. Only the hockey player among the four stood on the top step of the podium.

The correct answer is Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat. The edition in Varanasi was built around that theme, which links physical fitness to the wider campaign for a drug-free generation. In keeping with it, the minister and the participants took the Nasha Mukt Bharat pledge before the ride, and the cycle rally carried the same message through the streets of the city. Option B is wrong because the campaign invoked at this event was the one against substance abuse, not the cleanliness mission. Option C is wrong because Khelo India is a separate sports development programme and was not the theme announced for this edition. Option D is wrong because the organisers framed the morning around rejecting narcotics and adopting healthy habits rather than around air quality, even though cycling itself is a clean form of transport.