1. Eighty-five years ago, on June 25, 1932, India played its first ever Test Cricket match. They played under the name ‘All-India’. The team was captained by the Maharaja of Porbandar who eventually gave up his position as captain to the team’s outstanding batsman, who went on to score 1618 runs that year and in 1933 got featured in Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year . Who was this dashing batsman who was awarded the (then second highest) civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956?
2. This was Satyajit Ray’s only Hindi film and was based on a short story about two noblemen from Awadh who are so engrossed in their love for a game that they neglect their familial duties and fail to act against the seizure of the kingdom by the British. The modern variant of the game has a worldwide following. The original name (seen in the title of this movie) comes from the Sanskrit term for the four branches of the army involved in the game. This concept has remained intact till now. What is the title of the movie and what is the modern counterpart of the game mentioned in it?
3. Born on August 29, 1905 with the surname ‘Singh’, this young player got his more popular name from the fact that he used to practice his game under certain conditions due to time constraints of being in the army and the lack of electrical lights. Directly responsible for India’s first gold medal at an Olympics, this person’s birthday is celebrated by the President of India giving away the Nation’s three highest sporting honours. Who is the exemplary sportsperson? (pic)
4. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, is the highest sporting honour in India, which was started in 1991. The first award for sports though was started in 1961 and was given for outstanding performance in a sport. The second award was started in 1985 and honours coaches. Both awards are fittingly named after two characters from an ancient epic who were likewise a coach and his protégé. Name the two awards.
5. In 1974, the Indian Tennis team led by brilliant performances by Vijay and Anand Amritraj reached the Davis Cup finals. They had beaten reigning champions Australia in an epic confrontation where 327 games were played. Till then for the past 38 years either Australia or the U.S. had won the cup. The country was celebrating as the Indian team was confident that they would win this historic cup. Then, South Africa defeated Italy to become their opponent in the finals. What happened next was that the Indian Government decided to boycott the final, which meant that the trophy went to South Africa. What was the reason for this boycott which deprived India of its best chance ever of lifting the Davis Cup?
6. Thekkeparambil (Southern land) is surname for a family which is present in the town of Payyoli in Calicut. Pilavullakandi is a name passed down to this sportsperson. We know the sportsperson better from the first name and the nickname they earned. Who was this sportsperson who reached the Olympics finals in 1984 at Los Angeles?
7. The youngest Indian to be awarded the Padma Shri (at 18 years old), first sportsperson to receive the Padma Vibhushan and the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Who is this sportsperson who can be said to have single handedly made his sport popular in India?
8. The first time this sportsperson’s father knew she was practicing this sport was when he saw her picture in the newspaper after she won the state championship. He was furious as he believed that this sport would spoil all chances of getting her married. She went on to marry her friend (who delivered her new passport after she lost her old one). After her marriage and having kids she got back to the sport full time and went on to create history. Who is this inspiring sportsperson?
9. In 1989, Geet Sethi became the only person in the history of his sport to have two independent world records in two separate versions of his sport. He scored a maximum (147) in a game of the first sport in Guntur and a 1000+ break in competition in the other version. What are these two sports which laymen routinely mistake for each other?
10. We just marked the 140th anniversary of Norman Gilbert Pritchard (born in Kolkata, June 23, 1877). He studied at Saint Xavier’s College, Calcutta, and is credited with the first hat-trick in an open football tournament in India. He later migrated to Hollywood and starred in a few silent films in the 1920s. He appears in this quiz though for something he did when he was holidaying abroad. In 1900, not under an official capacity, he took part in a few events in Paris and consequently became the first Asian to do what?
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’.
Answers
1. Colonel C.K. Nayadu
2. Shatranj ke Khiladi, Shatranj and Chess
3. Dhyan Chand
4. Arjuna and Dronacharya
5. India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government’s apartheid policies
6. P.T. Usha
7. Viswanathan Anand
8. Mary Kom
9. Snooker and Billiards
10. He won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 200m hurdles becoming the first person from an Asian nation to win any medal at the Olympics
