Who was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal?
- A.P. T. Usha
- B.Mary Kom
- C.Karnam Malleswari
- D.Saina Nehwal
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Karnam Malleswari. She won a bronze medal in weightlifting at the Sydney Games of 2000, the first Olympic medal won by an Indian woman, and the achievement is the standard one-line fact set from this chapter.
Option A, P. T. Usha, came agonisingly close at Los Angeles in 1984, finishing fourth in the 400 metres hurdles by the smallest of margins, and her name is placed in the options precisely because students remember that race. Option B, Mary Kom, won a bronze in boxing at London in 2012, and Option D, Saina Nehwal, a bronze in badminton at the same Games, both after Malleswari. The reliable way to answer is to hold the year 2000 and the sport weightlifting together, since every other woman medallist from India belongs to 2012 or later.
Read the full article: Olympic Games: History, Symbols and India's Medals
Practice Questions
View allThe first recorded ancient Olympic Games are dated to which year?
- A.1200 BCE
- B.776 BCE
- C.490 BCE
- D.393 CE
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The ancient Games were held at Olympia in Greece in honour of Zeus, and 776 BCE is the earliest celebration for which a written record of the winner survives.
Read the full explanation →Who is regarded as the founder of the modern Olympic Games?
- A.Avery Brundage
- B.Demetrius Vikelas
- C.Baron Pierre de Coubertin
- D.Juan Antonio Samaranch
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The French educationist believed that sport built character in the young, and at a congress at the Sorbonne in Paris he founded the International Olympic Committee on 23 June 1894, which led directly to the first modern Games at Athens in 1896.
Read the full explanation →The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 were held in which city?
- A.Paris
- B.London
- C.St. Louis
- D.Athens
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Greece was chosen for the first modern Games because the ancient festival had been held there, and the event took place in 1896, two years after the International Olympic Committee was founded.
Read the full explanation →Where is the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee located?
- A.Lausanne, Switzerland
- B.Geneva, Switzerland
- C.Zurich, Switzerland
- D.Paris, France
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The International Olympic Committee moved its headquarters there during the First World War and has remained in the city since, which is why Lausanne is also called the Olympic Capital and houses the Olympic Museum.
Read the full explanation →The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius means which of the following?
- A.Faster, Farther, Stronger
- B.Braver, Higher, Stronger
- C.Faster, Higher, Stronger
- D.Higher, Faster, Together
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The three Latin words were suggested to Pierre de Coubertin by his friend Henri Didon, a French priest and educator who used them for the pupils at his school, and Coubertin adopted them for the Olympic movement.
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