SSC
Appu, the first mascot of the Asian Games, was introduced at which edition?
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Answer: Option D — New Delhi, 1982
Detailed Solution
Appu, a cheerful baby elephant, was the official mascot of the 9th Asian Games held in New Delhi from 19 November to 4 December 1982. It was the first mascot in the history of the Asian Games.
About Appu:
Appu was designed to represent the friendly and playful spirit of the Games. The elephant was chosen because it is an important symbol in Indian culture.
The mascot became very popular in India and appeared on stamps, souvenirs and posters.
An amusement park in Delhi, "Appu Ghar", opened in 1984 and was named after the mascot; it later closed in 2008.
The character is believed to have been modelled on a real elephant from Kerala.
The 1982 Asian Games:
- They were the second Asian Games held in India, after the first Games in 1951.
- The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was built for the event, and the Games helped introduce colour television broadcasting in India.
- India finished fifth on the medal table, with 13 gold medals.
Other famous mascots in India:
- Shera (a tiger): mascot of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi.
- Moga (a gaur, or Indian bison): mascot of the 2023 National Games in Goa.
Mascots of recent Asian Games:
- 2018 Jakarta-Palembang: Bhin Bhin (a bird of paradise), Atung (a deer) and Kaka (a rhinoceros).
- 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023): three robots, Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen.
- Mascots of the Olympics began with Waldi, a dachshund, at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Why not the other options?
- ✗New Delhi, 1951 was the first Asian Games, which had no mascot.
- ✗Bangkok, 1966 hosted the 5th Asian Games.
- ✗Seoul, 1986 hosted the 10th Asian Games, with the tiger mascot Hodori.
Quick tip
Remember: Appu (baby elephant) = first Asian Games mascot, New Delhi 1982 (9th Asiad); Shera = 2010 CWG Delhi; first Olympic mascot = Waldi (Munich 1972).
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, 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 sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports 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.