Vision Academy EducareVision Academy Educare
Question 225 of 325 · Sports
Questionmedium
This question was previously asked in

Police

India qualified for the FIFA World Cup in which year, but did not take part?

Answer View answer ▾

Answer: Option A — 1950

Detailed Solution

India qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, but it did not take part in the tournament. This remains the only time India qualified for a FIFA World Cup.

How India qualified:

India was placed in a qualifying group with Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia and the Philippines. All the other teams in the group withdrew, so India qualified automatically without playing a match.

Why India did not go:

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) withdrew for several reasons, including the high cost and long time needed to travel to Brazil by sea, the lack of time for preparation, and a belief that the Olympic Games were more important than the World Cup at that time.

A popular story says India withdrew because FIFA did not allow players to play barefoot. Many Indian players did play barefoot in those days, but historians say this was not the main reason; FIFA's rule on footwear was not the official cause given by the AIFF.

Indian football in the 1950s and 1960s (the "golden era"):

1951: India won the football gold at the first Asian Games in New Delhi.

1956: India finished fourth at the Melbourne Olympics, the best ever result by an Asian team at that time. Neville D'Souza scored a hat-trick against Australia, the first by an Asian at the Olympics.

1962: India won the Asian Games football gold in Jakarta.

1964: India were runners-up at the AFC Asian Cup.

The coach during this era was Syed Abdul Rahim, whose life was shown in the 2024 film "Maidaan".

Facts about the 1950 World Cup:

  • It was held in Brazil and was the first World Cup after World War II.
  • Uruguay won the tournament, beating hosts Brazil 2-1 in the deciding match at the Maracanã Stadium, a result known as the "Maracanazo".

Why not the other options?

  • ✗1930 was the first World Cup (Uruguay); India did not take part.
  • ✗1954 and 1966 were World Cups for which India did not qualify.

Quick tip

Remember: India qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil) but withdrew; golden era coach = Syed Abdul Rahim ("Maidaan"); 1950 winner = Uruguay ("Maracanazo").

💬 Discussions on this question

Ask a doubt ›

Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.

Ask a doubt

More Sports Questions

View all ›
  1. Q1.The Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS) is situated at:
  2. Q2.'Penalty corner' is a term associated with which sport?
  3. Q3.The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) was started in:
  4. Q4.In the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final, India defeated:
  5. Q5.The Barabati Stadium is located in which state?

More General Knowledge Questions

  1. Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
  2. Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
  3. Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
  4. Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
  5. Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms

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.

‹ All Sports questionsBrowse all topics ›