Olive Defence

General Knowledge

Sports

📘 CDS Current Affairs · CFC05

Sports carries moderate weightage in CDS GK. Questions focus on major international tournaments, Indian medal achievements, and first-ever milestones. CDS specifically loves: “Who was the first Indian to...” and “India’s rank/medals at [major event].”

📌 CDS Pattern — Sports (2022–2025):
• Olympics: medal winner, event, medal colour | • Cricket: ICC tournament winners, key players
• Chess: Indian world champions | • First-ever milestones for Indian athletes
• Sports awards: Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award recipients

1. Paris Olympics 2024 — India Complete Analysis

🏅 India’s Medal Tally (Paris 2024)

Total Medals

6 Medals (1 Silver + 5 Bronze)

India’s 2nd best medal tally ever (Tokyo 2020 = 7); 117 athletes participated

Best Performer

Manu Bhaker (2 Bronze)

First Indian woman to win 2 medals at single Olympics. 10m Air Pistol (individual) + 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team (with Sarabjot Singh)

Neeraj Chopra

Silver (Javelin Throw; 89.45m)

Defending champion (Gold Tokyo 2020). Silver at Paris. 2nd consecutive Olympic medal in athletics for India

Swapnil Kusale: Bronze, 50m Rifle 3 Positions. First Indian to win this event at Olympics.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team: Bronze. Back-to-back Olympic bronze (Tokyo 2020 + Paris 2024). First time India won back-to-back bronze since 1968–72. Captain: Harmanpreet Singh.
Aman Sehrawat: Bronze, Wrestling (Freestyle 57 kg). At 21, youngest Indian Olympic medallist in 2024. Won via bronze medal bout.
Next Olympics: Los Angeles 2028 (Summer); Milan-Cortina 2026 (Winter).
Historic fact: Norman Prichard (British India) won 2 silver medals at 1900 Paris Olympics — first Olympic medals by an Indian. Manu Bhaker is first Indian woman to win multiple medals at single Olympics.

2. Cricket — ICC Tournaments

🏏 Recent ICC Tournament Results

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 (West Indies & USA): India won. Defeated South Africa in final at Kensington Oval, Barbados by 7 runs. India unbeaten throughout the tournament. Captain: Rohit Sharma. Player of Tournament: Virat Kohli. India’s 2nd T20 WC title (first in 2007).
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 (India, 50-over ODI): Australia won. Defeated India in final at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. India was unbeaten in league stage. Australia’s 6th ODI World Cup title.
ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023: Australia won vs India at The Oval, London. Australia’s 1st WTC title.
ICC World Test Championship Final 2021: New Zealand won vs India at Southampton.
IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won. Defeated SunRisers Hyderabad in final. KKR’s 3rd IPL title. Andre Russell, Sunil Narine key performers.
IPL 2023: Chennai Super Kings won. Defeated Gujarat Titans. CSK’s 5th IPL title. MS Dhoni (captain emeritus).

3. Chess — India Dominant 2024

♟ Historic Chess Achievements

D Gukesh — World Chess Champion 2024: Defeated Ding Liren (China) in Singapore (Dec 2024). Youngest-ever Classical World Chess Champion at 18 years 8 months (broke Garry Kasparov’s record). First Indian to win the title. 14-game match; Gukesh won Game 14 after Ding blundered in endgame.
Chess Olympiad 2024 (Budapest, Hungary): India won BOTH Open (Men’s) and Women’s team gold medals. First nation to win both golds in same Olympiad. India hosted Chess Olympiad 2022 (Chennai) — won both golds at home too.
R Praggnanandhaa: Won Tata Steel Chess 2025 (Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands). Consistently top-10 globally. Age 19; also a prodigy from Chennai.
Viswanathan Anand: 5-time World Chess Champion (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012). Pioneer who inspired Gukesh’s generation. Now serves as FIDE Vice-President and mentor.

4. Other Major Sports & Achievements

🏋 Other Sports — Key Results (2022–2025)

Asian Games 2023 (Hangzhou, China; actually held Oct 2023): India’s best-ever performance. 107 medals (28 Gold + 38 Silver + 41 Bronze). Rank 4th in medal tally. Best previous: 70 medals (Jakarta 2018).
Commonwealth Games 2022 (Birmingham): India: 61 medals (22G + 16S + 23B). Rank 4th. Neeraj Chopra (javelin gold), PV Sindhu (badminton gold), Bajrang Punia (wrestling gold) among winners. Shooting not included (first time since 2010).
Badminton: PV Sindhu = 2 Olympic medals (Silver Rio 2016, Bronze Tokyo 2020). Lakshya Sen = Bronze CWG 2022; finalist Thomas Cup 2022. Thomas Cup 2022 (India won — first time in 73 years, beating Indonesia).
Athletics: Neeraj Chopra: World Athletics Championships 2023 (Budapest) — Gold (89.94m); first Indian to win gold at World Athletics Championships.
Tennis: Rohan Bopanna (51 years) won Australian Open Mixed Doubles 2024 — oldest Grand Slam winner in Open era. Leander Paes-like milestone for India.
FIFA World Cup 2022 (Qatar): Argentina won (Lionel Messi’s 1st WC title). Next: FIFA World Cup 2026 (USA, Canada, Mexico).

5. Sports Awards

🏆 Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna & Arjuna Award

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (Highest Sports Honour): 2024 recipients: D Gukesh (Chess), Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting). Earlier renamed from “Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna” to “Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna” in 2021.
Arjuna Award 2024: 17 athletes including Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics/hurdles), Annu Rani (Javelin), Salima Tete (Hockey), Mohammed Shami (Cricket), Arjun Babuta (Shooting, Paris 2024 4th place).
Dronacharya Award (Best Coach): Lifetime: Vimal Kumar (Badminton). Regular: coaches of Paris 2024 medalists.
National Sports Day: August 29 (Major Dhyan Chand’s birthday). Awards ceremony held on this day.
TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme): Identifies potential Olympic medalists; provides training support, foreign exposure, equipment. Manu Bhaker, Neeraj Chopra, Aman Sehrawat were TOPS athletes.

📝 TOPIC-WISE PYQ

Sports — CDS Pattern Questions with Explanations

Q1. Manu Bhaker achieved a unique distinction at Paris Olympics 2024. Which of the following correctly describes it? (CDS I 2025)

(a) First Indian to win gold in shooting at Olympics (b) First Indian woman to win 2 medals at a single Olympics (c) First Indian to win back-to-back Olympic medals (d) First Asian woman to win Olympic shooting gold

Answer: (b) First Indian woman to win 2 medals at a single Olympics
Manu Bhaker won Bronze in 10m Air Pistol (individual) and Bronze in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team (with Sarabjot Singh) at Paris 2024. She is the first Indian woman to win multiple medals at a single Olympics. For reference, Norman Prichard (British India) won 2 medals at 1900 Olympics but was not a woman. Neeraj Chopra had won Gold at Tokyo + Silver at Paris = back-to-back Olympic medals (option c is about him, not Manu). Manu did not win gold (option a wrong); she won bronze.

Q2. D Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion in December 2024. Which record did he break? (CDS pattern)

(a) Bobby Fischer’s record (b) Garry Kasparov’s record (c) Magnus Carlsen’s record (d) Viswanathan Anand’s record

Answer: (b) Garry Kasparov’s record
Gukesh became World Champion at age 18 years 8 months, breaking Garry Kasparov’s record of 22 years (Kasparov won in 1985). Gukesh defeated Ding Liren (China) in Singapore in December 2024 (14-game classical match). Viswanathan Anand was India’s first World Champion (won 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012) — Gukesh is India’s 2nd. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) was champion 2013–2023 before relinquishing title. Bobby Fischer = American champion 1972 (Cold War era).

Q3. India won both Open and Women’s team gold at the Chess Olympiad 2024. Where was it held? (CDS pattern)

(a) Chennai, India (b) Paris, France (c) Budapest, Hungary (d) Singapore

Answer: (c) Budapest, Hungary
Chess Olympiad 2024 was held in Budapest, Hungary. India won both Open team gold (Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna) and Women’s team gold. India had also won both golds at Chennai (home) in 2022. Budapest 2024 = first time India won both golds away from home. CDS note: Chess Olympiad 2022 = Chennai, India; Chess Olympiad 2024 = Budapest.

Q4. India’s Thomas Cup 2022 victory was historically significant because: (CDS II 2023)

(a) First Thomas Cup win (b) First Thomas Cup win in 73 years (c) First Asian nation to win Thomas Cup (d) India won without losing a single match

Answer: (b) First Thomas Cup win in 73 years
Thomas Cup (Men’s Badminton Team World Championship) 2022 was held in Bangkok, Thailand. India defeated Indonesia (14-time champions, 3-0) in the final. India had not won the Thomas Cup since 1952 (when it was first held). India team included Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty. This was widely called the biggest upset in Thomas Cup history given Indonesia’s dominance.

📝 Rapid Revision Sheet — CFC05 Sports

🏅 Paris 2024 Medals

Neeraj Chopra: Silver (Javelin 89.45m)
Manu Bhaker: 2 Bronze (10m Air Pistol; Mixed Team)
Swapnil Kusale: Bronze (50m Rifle 3P)
Hockey (Men): Bronze (back-to-back)
Aman Sehrawat: Bronze (Wrestling 57kg; youngest)
Total: 6 medals (1S + 5B)

🏏 Cricket + Chess

T20 WC 2024: India won (vs South Africa)
ODI WC 2023: Australia won (vs India in final)
WTC Final 2023: Australia won vs India
Gukesh: Youngest WCC (18yr 8mo); broke Kasparov
Chess Olympiad 2024 (Budapest): India won both golds
Praggnanandhaa: Tata Steel 2025 winner

🎯 Other Achievements

Asian Games 2023: India 107 medals (best ever)
Thomas Cup 2022: India won; first in 73 years
Neeraj: World Athletics 2023 gold (89.94m)
Bopanna: Australian Open Mixed Doubles 2024
FIFA WC 2022: Argentina (Messi) won in Qatar

🏆 Sports Awards

Khel Ratna 2024: Gukesh, Harmanpreet, Manu Bhaker
National Sports Day: August 29 (Dhyan Chand birthday)
Khel Ratna: renamed from Rajiv Gandhi (2021)
TOPS: Target Olympic Podium Scheme
Dronacharya: best coach award

⚡ Quick Booster — CFC05 Sports

🏅 Olympics Facts

Paris 2024: 6 medals total
Manu Bhaker: 2 bronze; 1st Indian woman 2 medals
Neeraj: Silver (89.45m); Gold Tokyo
Hockey: back-to-back bronze (Tokyo+Paris)
Aman Sehrawat: youngest medallist 2024

♟ Chess Quick

Gukesh = youngest WCC; 18yr 8mo
Broke Kasparov record (not Fischer/Anand)
Chess Olympiad 2024 = Budapest, Hungary
India won both Open + Women’s gold
Anand = India’s 1st WCC (5-time)

🔸 CDS Traps

T20 WC 2024 winner = India (NOT 2023)
ODI WC 2023 winner = Australia (NOT India)
Thomas Cup 2022: 73 years gap, NOT first time
Chess Olympiad 2024 = Budapest (NOT Chennai)
Swapnil Kusale: 50m RIFLE 3P (NOT Air Rifle)

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