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India won the Asian Games football gold medal for the first time in:
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Answer: Option D — 1951
Detailed Solution
India won the football gold medal at the first Asian Games, held in New Delhi in March 1951. In the final, played at the National Stadium in Delhi, India beat Iran 1-0. The winning goal was scored by Sheoo Mewalal.
The 1951 team:
- The team was captained by Sailen Manna, one of India's greatest defenders.
- It was coached by Syed Abdul Rahim, who is regarded as the architect of Indian football's golden era.
- Sheoo Mewalal was the tournament's top scorer.
India's golden era of football (1950s-1960s):
- 1950: India qualified for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil but withdrew.
- 1951: Asian Games gold (New Delhi).
1956: fourth place at the Melbourne Olympics, the best Olympic result for an Asian football team at that time. Neville D'Souza scored a hat-trick against Australia.
1962: second Asian Games gold, in Jakarta. India beat South Korea 2-1 in the final, with goals from P. K. Banerjee and Jarnail Singh. Chuni Goswami was the captain.
1964: runners-up at the AFC Asian Cup in Israel.
After the death of coach Rahim in 1963, Indian football gradually declined at the international level. Rahim's story is told in the 2024 Hindi film "Maidaan".
India has not won an Asian Games football medal since the bronze in 1970 (Bangkok).
Other key facts about Indian football:
- The All India Football Federation (AIFF) was founded in 1937 and joined FIFA in 1948.
- Sunil Chhetri is India's most capped player and highest goal scorer.
- India's highest FIFA ranking was 94th, achieved in 1996.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1962 was India's second Asian Games football gold, in Jakarta.
- ✗1958 was not a medal year for Indian football at the Asian Games.
- ✗1970 is when India won a bronze medal in football at the Bangkok Asian Games.
Quick tip
Remember: India's Asian Games football golds = 1951 (New Delhi, beat Iran 1-0, Sheoo Mewalal goal, captain Sailen Manna) and 1962 (Jakarta, beat South Korea 2-1); coach = Syed Abdul Rahim.
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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.