SSC
'The Race of My Life' is the autobiography of:
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Answer: Option B — Milkha Singh
Detailed Solution
Milkha Singh (1929-2021), popularly known as the "Flying Sikh", was one of India's greatest athletes. His autobiography, "The Race of My Life", was written with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka and published in 2013.
Milkha Singh was born in Govindpura, in Punjab, in present-day Pakistan. During the Partition of India in 1947, he lost many members of his family in the violence and came to India as a refugee. He joined the Indian Army, where his talent as a runner was discovered. He became a 400-metre specialist and won gold medals at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo and the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff; this was independent India's first athletics gold at the Commonwealth Games. He also won gold medals at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta.
His most famous race was the 400-metre final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He finished fourth, missing the bronze medal by a very small margin, but his time of 45.73 seconds was a national record that stood for about 38 years. He received the Padma Shri in 1959. The title "Flying Sikh" was given to him by General Ayub Khan of Pakistan after he won a race in Lahore in 1960.
The Hindi film "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" (2013), directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, with Farhan Akhtar in the lead role, is based on his life and this book. Milkha Singh died in June 2021 from complications of COVID-19.
Why not the other options?
P.T. Usha's autobiography is "Golden Girl".
Dhyan Chand's autobiography is "Goal".
Kapil Dev wrote "By God's Decree" and "Straight from the Heart".
Quick tip
Remember: Milkha Singh = "The Race of My Life", the "Flying Sikh", 4th in the 400 m at Rome 1960 and the film "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag". P.T. Usha = "Golden Girl".
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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.