Which Indian shuttler won medals at two successive Olympic Games, a silver and then a bronze?

The correct answer is A, Norman Pritchard. At the Paris Games of 1900 he won two silver medals, in the 200 metres and the 200 metres hurdles, and the International Olympic Committee credits both to India, which makes him the country's first Olympic medallist. B is wrong because K. D. Jadhav won bronze in wrestling at Helsinki in 1952, which was the first individual medal won by an Indian for independent India but not the country's first medal overall; this is the commonest trap in the question. C is wrong because Dhyan Chand, though the greatest name of Indian hockey and a member of the gold-winning teams of 1928, 1932 and 1936, did not win the first medal; India's hockey gold run began twenty-eight years after Pritchard. D is wrong because Leander Paes won his tennis bronze at Atlanta in 1996, a full ninety-six years later.

The correct answer is B, Karnam Malleswari. She won the bronze medal in weightlifting in the 69 kilogram category at the Sydney Games of 2000, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal of any colour. A is wrong because P. T. Usha, for all her achievement on the track, finished fourth in the 400 metres hurdles at Los Angeles in 1984, missing bronze by one hundredth of a second, so she never won an Olympic medal; this near miss is itself a popular question. C is wrong because Mary Kom won her boxing bronze at London in 2012, twelve years after Malleswari. D is wrong because Saina Nehwal won her badminton bronze at the same London Games of 2012. The order to remember is Malleswari in 2000, then Mary Kom and Saina Nehwal in 2012.

The correct answer is B, Abhinav Bindra. He won the gold medal in the men's 10 metre air rifle at Beijing in 2008, India's first individual gold in any sport and the first gold of any kind since the hockey team's win at Moscow in 1980. A is wrong because Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won silver in double trap shooting at Athens in 2004, which was India's first individual silver but not a gold. C is wrong because Neeraj Chopra won gold in the javelin throw at Tokyo in 2020, India's first gold in athletics but thirteen years after Bindra's. D is wrong because Vijay Kumar won silver in the 25 metre rapid fire pistol at London in 2012. The pair to keep separate is Bindra for the first individual gold and Neeraj Chopra for the first athletics gold.

The correct answer is C, Wrestling. Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling in the bantamweight category at the Helsinki Games of 1952, the first individual Olympic medal won by an Indian for independent India; until then every Indian medal except Pritchard's two had come from the hockey team. A is wrong because India's first boxing medal came much later, Vijender Singh's bronze at Beijing in 2008. B is wrong because India's first weightlifting medal was Karnam Malleswari's bronze at Sydney in 2000. D is wrong because India's first shooting medal was Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's silver at Athens in 2004. Wrestling has since become one of India's strongest Olympic sports, with eight medals in all, from Jadhav in 1952 to Aman Sehrawat in 2024.

The correct answer is C, eight. India won the hockey gold at six consecutive Games, from Amsterdam in 1928 through Los Angeles, Berlin, London and Helsinki to Melbourne in 1956, and then again at Tokyo in 1964 and Moscow in 1980, which gives eight golds in all. A is wrong because six is the number of consecutive golds, not the total, and that distinction is the usual trap in this question. B is wrong because no Indian hockey tally reaches seven as either figure. D is wrong because nine overstates the record; India has won no hockey gold since 1980, although the team took bronze at Tokyo in 2020 and again at Paris in 2024. Including the silver of 1960 and four bronze medals, hockey has brought India thirteen Olympic medals in all.