SSC
'Goal' is the autobiography of which Indian sportsperson?
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Answer: Option B — Major Dhyan Chand
Detailed Solution
"Goal!" is the autobiography of Major Dhyan Chand, the legendary Indian hockey player known as "The Wizard". It was published in 1952 by Sport and Pastime, Madras (Chennai).
About the book:
- In it, Dhyan Chand describes his early life, his entry into the army, his love for hockey and India's three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932 and 1936).
- He recalls famous tours, such as the 1926 tour of New Zealand and the 1932 world tour, and the final against Germany at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
- The book is short and simple, written in a modest style.
About Major Dhyan Chand (1905-1979):
- He was born on 29 August 1905 in Allahabad (Prayagraj), and his birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day.
- He scored over 400 goals in his career and was famous for his ball control.
- India's highest sporting honour was renamed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
Autobiographies of other Indian sportspersons:
- Balbir Singh Sr.: "The Golden Hat Trick".
- Milkha Singh: "The Race of My Life" (written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka); the film "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" is based on it.
- T. Usha: "Golden Girl".
- Sachin Tendulkar: "Playing It My Way".
- Kapil Dev: "Straight from the Heart".
- Sourav Ganguly: "A Century Is Not Enough".
- Mary Kom: "Unbreakable".
- Sania Mirza: "Ace Against Odds".
- Yuvraj Singh: "The Test of My Life".
- Abhinav Bindra: "A Shot at History".
- Saina Nehwal: "Playing to Win".
- Dhanraj Pillay's biography is "Forgive Me Amma" (by Sundeep Misra).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Balbir Singh Sr.'s autobiography is "The Golden Hat Trick".
- ✗Dhanraj Pillay's life is told in "Forgive Me Amma".
- ✗Milkha Singh's autobiography is "The Race of My Life".
Quick tip
Remember: "Goal!" = Dhyan Chand (1952); "The Golden Hat Trick" = Balbir Singh Sr.; "The Race of My Life" = Milkha Singh; "Golden Girl" = P. T. Usha.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.